A Rat Among Us
by The Kilt Gals
Summary: A traitor is sent to Hogwarts. Her name is Kim Pettigrew. Her mission is to spy on Harry Potter. But an obstacle stands in her way that she hadn't bargained for: love.
1. To Hogwarts!

Copyright: To JK Rowling. What is familiar is hers and what is not familiar does not belong to me, either – some of it belongs to Voldemort and some of the other stuff belongs to no one. I am not a slavedriver, therefore, I own no one.

**_Chapter 1_**

"Kimberly, are you up there?"

"Yes, dad!"

"Can you come down here for a moment?"

"Yes, dad!" The fifteen-year-old girl hopped down the rickety staircase into the run-down kitchen. "Yes, dad?" she asked pleasantly.

A few Death Eaters from the corner snorted.

"Wormtail, we're off. The Dark Lord has called a meeting in five minutes and we need to be off," Bellatrix Lestrange said from the corner and Disapparated with a 'pop'.

"I'll be there," Kim's father replied, nervously. Why he was nervous, Kim didn't know, but it seemed like the normal thing now a day.

"What did you want, dad?" Kim asked, as the last Death Eater Disapparated.

"I wanted to talk about your education," he replied.

"My what?" Kim asked, unsure that she had heard her father properly.

"Well I realize that you've been home-schooled in magic by the Death Eaters and myself," he cleared his throat, "but the Dark Lord told me that it was time that you got some proper education."

"So are you saying..." she trailed off.

"Yes. It's time that we sent you off to a wizarding school," he finished, wringing his hands. "I must leave now, but I will discuss this further with you later." With a 'pop', he was gone.

Kim stood there, shocked for a moment. Then a grin broke out upon her face and she jumped into the air with joy. She was finally going to school!

"Now," Wormtail said, sitting down on the edge of Kim's bed that night. "We can talk about your education further. Which school-"

"Hogwarts!" Kim cried.

Wormtail frowned, "I was thinking more along the lines of Durmstrang-"

"No, dad... Hogwarts!" she repeated happily.

"You've given this a lot of thought, haven't you?" he said frowning.

Kim grinned.

"I'll speak with the Dark Lord. It was he, himself, who suggested Durmstrang. He is very interested in your future, you know. He wants you to marry Bellatrix's son-"

"Eww! You mean Karl? Gross!" Kim replied, revolted.

"Let me speak with my Master."

Wormtail threw some powder by the fireplace into the grate and stuck his head inside. "Master?" Wormtail asked timidly. "I've spoken to her, she wishes to go to Hogwarts instead."

"Good! We can work this to our advantage! But first, she must change her name, yours under the nose of that Muggle-loving fool is not a smart idea..."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Remember, Kimberly, your name is Kim Barkley. Kim Barkley-"

"I get it, dad!" Kim exclaimed, "really, I'll remember it!"

"I'm just trying to protect you-"

"I know, dad, I know."

Kim stepped into the train station with a rat in her pocket. This rat was really her father: he was an Animagus, meaning that he could change into animals. He had wanted to go with her to see her off, but Voldemort had insisted that he at least change into his Animagus form.

Suddenly, Wormtail began to squeak noisily and hid deep inside of Kim's pocket. Kim looked around to figure out why, but saw no one out of the ordinary. She looked to her left and here was a redheaded girl that looked about her age. She looked to her right and saw a man that had very light brown hair that was flecked with gray. He was seeing a girl off near a solid brick wall between platforms nine and ten.

She walked over to the man and the girl, who had curly sand-colored hair down to her waist.

"Excuse me," she said politely, as Wormtail continued to squeak in her pocket. "Could you tell me how to get onto..." she looked at her ticket, "Platform Nine and Three Quarters?"

"Absolutely!" the man replied, "What's your name?"

"My names is Kim..." she paused, "Barkley."

"Pleased to meet you, Kim," the man replied as the squeaking increased, "My name is Remus. Just watch my daughter, Natalie. She's going to Hogwarts as well. You just walk straight through that wall right there, don't stop, or it won't work."

"Okay," Kim said and watched as Natalie gave her father a hug good-bye and ran headfirst into the wall and disappeared through it.

"All right, your turn," Remus said cheerfully, "but I wonder, is there something the matter with your rat?"

"My... rat?" Kim asked puzzled.

"He seems to be making a fuss."

"Yeah, he's... er... always doing that," she replied, thanked Remus again, and ran into the wall, half-expecting that she would smash into solid brick.

But she didn't smash into anything at all. She was on the platform, just as Remus had promised. Happily, she wandered over to the train and tried to heave her trunk inside. However, all she managed to do was bump her head several times and give up in exasperation. As she sat there, Wormtail crawled out of her pocket. She said good-bye to him, and for a split-second he was human and then Disapparated. She sat there in dispair and anger with her father for not helping her, as the guard on the platform began to signal that the train was about to leave.

Kim tried once again to heave her heavy trunk onto the rack above her, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Need some help?" a voice asked. It startled Kim so much that her trunk hit her head again and slumped back onto the ground.

"Ouch!" Kim exclaimed, then surveyed the girl that had offered her help. It was that girl from the platform, Natalie, whose father had helped her onto the platform. "Sure."

Together they eventually shoved both of their luggage onto the rack and then slumped onto the seats in fits of laughter.

"I hope you don't mind if I come into this compartment," Natalie said after she'd stopped giggling, "everywhere else is full."

"No, it's fine," Kim replied, "I could use some company."

The girls spent the entire ride getting to know one another. Kim learned that Natalie was just starting Hogwarts in her first year and that her eleventh birthday had been only the day before.

"Happy Belated Birthday, then," Kim said with a grin. "Know what house you're going to be in?"

"Well, my father was in Gryffindor, so that might be where I'll end up," she replied. "I just don't want to end up in Hufflepuff or anything."

"What's that?" Kim asked, curious.

"Woah! Wait a minute, I thought you said you were a pureblood!" Natalie exclaimed.

"I am, but what does that have to do with-"

"Well your parents should have told you the houses then, right?"

"Well my dad did tell me about Slytherin. Everyone who lives in my house was in Slytherin-"

"What do you mean 'everybody who lives in your house?'" Natalie wondered curiously.

Kim could've smacked herself. She'd almost let slip that there were Death Eaters living in her house! She'd have to do some serious lying this year if she wanted to even get through the first month.

"My, uh, family," she replied unconvincingly.

The train began to slow.

"We've reached the grounds," Natalie whispered excitedly. "Then we get to sail across the lake!"

"Ooh, I don't fancy that idea: it's a bloody thunderstorm out there!" Kim replied as she stuffed the last Cauldron Cake from the snack trolley into her pocket.

"Well it's tradition," Natalie replied, apparently not relishing the idea either, "besides, my dad said there was a giant squid in the lake!"

"Oh THAT'S reassuring, now I REALLY want to sail across the lake!"

Natalie couldn't think of a reply to this, so she kept her mouth shut. They were about to get off the train, when Kim had an idea.

"Wait!" she said, rummaging through her trunk and pulling out her wand, "I remember a spell that my... uh... aunt taught me." She muttered a spell and pointed it at Natalie and then at herself.

"Watch where you point that thing-"

"Nat, look!" Kim stepped off of the train and into the rain and stayed completely dry. "See? We won't get wet!"

Natalie stepped off of the train as well, "Hey, you're right! Wow, am I glad that you're already experienced!"

"Firs' years over here!" a large man called. He held a lantern and was standing in front of a fleet of boats.

Natalie and Kim walked over to him, still dry as the rest of the first years made their way to him as well, their bodies already soaked.

Kim and Natalie were followed into their boat by a couple of scared-looking and sopping wet first-years that looked as though they were twins. They sat down, ready to row the boat, but Kim offered to help and they gratefully accepted the offer. The two boys sponged out their robes, making the water level that was inside the boat rise slightly.

Kim glanced at Natalie, whose feet seemed to be repelling the water that was swarming around them and grinned. Natalie became friends with the first years as Kim rowed the boat through the lake, staying completely dry and comfortable.

"What are your names?" Natalie asked the boys.

"I'm Ethan and he's Eric," said one of the boys as they began to get their robes even more soaked just by accidentally splashing each other. They finally gave up trying to get a little less wet when they realized that it was a fruitless task and looked at Natalie and Kim, envying their dryness.

"You're not a first-year," Eric accused Kim, "it's obvious."

"You're right," Kim replied, "I'm going to into my fifth-year."

By the time they had reached Hogwarts, Eric and Ethan were leaving for the Entrance Hall with Natalie and Kim.

"What are your last names?" Eric asked, being the more outgoing brother.

"I'm Natalie Lupin," Natalie replied, standing on her toes and looking over the heads of her peers.

"I'm Kimberly Barkley."

"What? Are you serious? OUR last name is Barkley!" Eric exclaimed.

Kim smiled and pretended to act as surprised as they were. However she realized that this would make things a whole lot easier. People wouldn't give her much of a second thought if there were other people in the school with the same last name. Everyone would just assume that they had to be related somehow and wouldn't tie her in with Voldemort at all!

"Attention first-years!" a professor's voice yelled over their heads. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to begin."

A very nervous boy that was next to Kim twitched so violently that she almost got knocked over.

"Why are you so nervous?" she asked him, trying to calm him down.

"My brother told me what we have to do," he whispered as though divulging some secret.

"What, you mean try on the hat?"

"No, you have to EAT the hat," he replied in terror.

"Then how would you know what house you're in?" she asked him, trying to prove her point.

"You burp it up," he replied simply. This kid's brother was clearly a prankster.

The professor began to lead the first-years away before Kim could tell the kid that you don't have to eat the Sorting Hat to be sorted.

"How on earth would the people after try the hat on, then?" she whispered to Natalie.

Natalie shrugged, "Maybe that's what he's so afraid of."

"When I call your name, you will come forth and try on the Sorting Hat," the professor called. She was a witch wearing robes of deep emerald green. The nervous boy in front of Kim relaxed. "Asthertet, Lilly."

"SLYTHERIN!"

The table to the far left clapped wildly as Lilly got up from the stool and joined them. Kim looked over at the Slytherins as "Azaka, Harold," was being sorted into "HUFFLEPUFF!" The Slytherins looked like a mean lot. She wondered why her father was so keen on getting her into that particular house.

"Barkley, Eric!"

Kim looked up to see her new friend, Eric, climb onto the stool and the hat dropped over his eyes.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled out.

Eric, his face beaming and his fingers crossed for his brother, went off to the Gryffindor table, whose occupants seemed a lot wilder and more fun than the Slytherins.

"Barkley, Ethan!"

Ethan climbed onto the stool in the same manner as his brother with a grin on his face.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled. Beaming even wider, Ethan hurried off to join his brother.

"Barkley, Kimberly!"

Kim heard a whisper of, "How many are there?" somewhere throughout one of the tables before the hat fell over her eyes.

"Hmmm, this is interesting," a voice inside her head said. Kim jumped. She hadn't expected the hat to say something in her head, "Very interesting. Your father was a traitor, your mother was an evildoer and your brain seems to want to be like your father, yet in the back of your mind... hmmm, this is very interesting. I'm aware that you wanted to be in Slytherin, yes? Or is that your father's voice speaking? Well, hopefully you won't be a traitor, Miss Pettigrew-"

Kim gasped: so the hat knew who she was after all! Hopefully no one could hear the voice besides her.

"I'll put you in the same house as your father and hope you'll fit in, then," the hat said.

So she was going to Slytherin, then? It seemed a shame because she didn't think that she was Slytherin material.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted the word to the whole hall.

Kim was surprised, yet pleased as she made her way toward the wildly clapping Gryffindor table.

"AND FIFTH-YEAR GRYFFINDOR AT THAT!" the hat added, before "Buroley, Jacinta," was sent to the hat next.

Down the list went. Finally, "Laurel, Lisa," was sent off to, "RAVENCLAW!" and "Lupin, Natalie," was called.

The hat had barely touched her head when it shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

Natalie, her face beaming, slid into a seat next to Kim.

"Congratulations, your dad will be happy," Kim whispered and Natalie smiled.

"Yours, too," Natalie replied and Kim forced a fake smile. If truth be told, her father would be severely disappointed with her, and Voldemort... she shuddered, she didn't even want to know what Voldemort would say.

The sorting ended when "Yogi, Clara," was sent to "RAVENCLAW!"

A man in midnight blue robes with a long, white beard and flowing hair stood up. That must be Dumbledore, Kim realized with a pang. From the way Voldemort spoke of him, she had expected different. But this man radiated goodness and love. She grimaced. This year would be harder than she thought.

"I have only two words to say," Dumbledore announced in a powerful voice, "Dig in."

Suddenly, the plates on the tables filled with food magically. Kim had never seen food in such a generous proportion, and she loved to eat (a trait she had inherited from her father).

"So you're a fifth-year, then?" a girl with long brown hair asked.

"Yes," Kim replied, "I've been home-schooled in magic for the past four years." That wasn't true, either. She'd been home-schooled in the Dark Arts before she could even remember. Before she'd been given a wand, it was Potions and Apparating (something she had done illegally) and the Animagus transformation (another thing that she had been taught illegally).

"I see, so you're a pureblood then?" the girl asked.

"Yes," Kim replied proudly.

"Me too!" the girl said happily. "I'm Anna Flest, by the way."

"I'm Kim Barkley."

"Yes, I know," Anna replied, grinning. "I guess I'll show you around tomorrow. Do you know which extra courses you've been signed up for?"

"Divination and I think my, er, uncle wanted me to take Care of Magical Creatures for some reason," she replied, almost laughing because she had referred to Voldemort as her uncle.

"Excellent! We're in the same courses!" Anna exclaimed, piling some steak onto her plate. "There are two other girls in our Dorm," she went on, "Ginny Weasley - she's the redhead over there - and Lauren Buroley - she's the one right next to her."

"I see," Kim replied, taking a good look at the girls, so she wouldn't forget their faces. At the same time, something stirred in the back of her mind: Weasley. She knew that name. Hadn't her father mentioned the name Weasley on more than one occasion? In fact, she seemed to remember Voldemort, himself, mentioning the name once or twice.

"Then there's four boys in our year, too," Anna continued. "Colin Creevy, James Livingston, Orlando Gardner, and Michael Chatfield."

She pointed the boys out, and Kim memorized their faces as well.

"So tell me, what houses were your parents in?"

Kim was beginning to get nervous every time someone asked her about her parents. "Slytherin," she replied bluntly.

"Ooh, are they going to be angry?"

"My dad might just be disappointed."

"What about your mom?"

"She died in childbirth," Kim replied, preferring to drop the subject.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Anna replied immediately.

"It's okay, it doesn't really bother me anymore." She couldn't help wondering, however, that if her father had been in Slytherin, why had the hat told her that it was going to put her in Gryffindor: the same house as her father? True, she'd never been told that her father was a Slytherin, but all of the other Death Eaters were, so it just seemed like the natural thing. Also, what was this business about being a traitor? What, if anything, was her father keeping from her? Could the hat have simply made a mistake?


	2. First Classes

The next morning, Kim awoke in her new Dormitory.  The first thing she saw was the red and gold hanging with the great Gryffindor Lion in a permanent roar. She got out of bed and changed into her Hogwarts robes. She ambled sleepily toward the mirror and stared hopelessly at her tousled, unevenly cut, blonde locks.

"You really need to do something about that hair."

Kim looked around to see who had spoken and came face to face with Anna.

"Well, what do you propose that I do with it?" she inquired, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"I'll cut it for you if you like," Anna replied, walking over in her pajamas that were a bit too lacey for Kim's taste. "My aunt's a hairdresser and she gave me lessons."

"Did she?" Kim wondered mildly, not really caring.  She was too busy wondering what she would be having for breakfast.

"Yes… now where did I put my wand?" Anna began rummaging around her trunk.

"Wait a second!  Just wait one SECOND!" Kim exclaimed, becoming alarmed, "I never said that I wanted my hair cut!"

"Oh, hush, you'll never get any boys to notice you the way that you are now," Anna retorted, finally noticing her wand on her bedside table.  She picked it up and brandished it at Kim, making it emit several purple sparks by accident.

"Where's the fire?" Lauren asked groggily, sitting up in bed with her hair tousled and her eyes red and puffy.

"No fire," Anna replied. "Kim won't let me cut her hair!"

"But, I don't want-"

"Ooh, you should let her!" Lauren said enthusiastically, rubbing her eyes a blinking a few times.  "Look what she did to my hair!" she added once she was fully awake.  She tossed her own glossy brown hair into view. It had been neatly layered and was quite pretty.

"But, I don't want-" Kim repeated.

"Nonsense, of course you do," Anna replied confidently. "Now sit!" she said very forcefully.

Kim sat. The moment she did, she heard a series of small _zip_ noises.  She looked down at her hair that hung near her waist.  She uttered a soft scream when she found it near her shoulders and in layers.

"See, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Anna was saying, vanishing the extra hair with a simple incantation.

"Ooh, it looks so much better!" Lauren exclaimed, getting up to change into her school uniform.

Kim turned around to look in the mirror and had to admit that it looked great.  Living with a bunch of Death Eaters who fought over any little thing had rubbed off on her, however.

"It's... alright," she admitted.

"Oh, you know you like it!" Anna snapped, slipping into her skirt and shirt and fastening her tie.  "Now let's wake Ginny and go to the Great Hall!"

"Yeah, I'm starved," Kim agreed, casting one more glance at her new haircut before going to put on her school uniform like Lauren and Anna were.

Lauren shook Ginny a little, and she woke with a dull, "S'matter?"

"Time for breakfast, Gin!" Anna sang.

"Okay," she replied and turned over to continue sleeping.

"Oh, come ON, Ginny, wake up!"

"Alright! Alright!"

Kim followed Lauren and Anna down to the Common Room, while Ginny got dressed and sat around on the squashy armchairs that were placed around the room.  Once Ginny had emerged from their Dormitory, they all trooped into the Great Hall for breakfast before their first class.

"What have we got first?" Ginny asked through a mouthful of sausage.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Kim replied, thinking hard. Defense Against the Dark Arts?  She already knew the Dark Arts, so why did she have to learn to defend herself against them?

A red-haired boy who took a seat next to Ginny broke into her train of thoughts. He had a shiny Prefects' badge on his chest. "Hey Ginny," he greeted jovially.  "Who are your friends?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "How many times do I have to introduce you, Ron?"

"Only one more time," he replied, buttering some toast as a bushy-haired girl, who wore a badge identical to his sat next to him.  A person that Kim already knew followed her.  Harry Potter.

"Oh, honestly, Ron," the girl said, rolling her eyes, "that's Lauren, Anna, and…  Well, I actually don't know who you are."

"Kim Barkley," Kim replied, staring at her English Muffin.

"Pleased to meet you," the girl replied, "I'm Hermione Granger-"

"Yeah, we know, Hermione," Ron interrupted impatiently.  He turned to Kim, "Why haven't I seen you before?"

"I've been home-schooled in magic and I just got transferred here yesterday," she replied.

"Oh, that must be fascinating," Hermione was saying. "You must be a pureblood, then!  What were you taught?"

"Er," Kim said, uncertainly. "Transfiguration…"  (Yeah, if you counted Avery teaching her to change the spiders into doxies before he set them into a Muggle woman's hair, while Nott killed her husband).  "…Um, Care of Magical Creatures…" (Again, another interesting predicament with trying to make a deal with a lone Acromantula so that it would get set into a house of Muggles and eat them alive). "…And, er, Potions…"  (This involved Lucius Malfoy teaching her to brew one of the most deadly Potions available, which turned the drinker inside-out after an hour of excruciating pain.  The taker would then bleed to death from exposure.  Malfoy, himself, had then put the Potion into some of the drinks given to the Aurors at the Ministry…but that was a different story).

"You must have had a wonderful teacher," Hermione crooned.

Kim snorted into her muffin.

"You look oddly familiar," Harry announced, after staring at her for about five minutes.  "Have we met?"

"Er... no," Kim replied.  Did she really look THAT much like her father?

Ginny's brother, Ron, looked at her, too, "Hey, Harry!  You're right!  You know who she looks like?"

Kim's eyes got very wide.  What if they recognized her?

"Are you related to Lockheart?" Ron asked curiously.

Kim sighed inwardly in relief, "No, I'm not."

"Oh come on, _I_ don't think she looks like Lockheart!" Hermione protested.

"Well, I'm going off to Defense Against the Dark Arts.  Meet you up there," she said to her new friends and hurried off.

She wandered helplessly through a few corridors, before realizing that she was utterly lost.  Whether luckily or unluckily, she happened to bump into none other than Draco Malfoy along one corridor that looked suspiciously like the last three.

"So… you're here, are you?" he smirked.  "I suppose you're not in Slytherin, though, right?  Dear, dear, what will daddy say?"

He was mimicking her, she knew that, but this wasn't the time for her to loose her temper.  If she wanted him to show her the way, she'd have to play by his rules.

"Can you just show me the way or not, Draco?" she asked temperamentally, nonetheless.

"Yes, I can," he replied, then looked around, "why were you really sent here?"

"The Dark Lord wanted me to keep an eye on Potter," she replied in an undertone.  "He seemed pretty confident that I'd be able to weasel my way in Gryffindor."

"I see," he mused. "Do you want me to tell father so he can tell him that you made your way in?" he asked as they turned the corner.

"Yes, if you can," she replied. "I don't have my own owl and I'm not sure that I want to use one of the school's."

"I will then," he replied, leaving her at the door to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Kim looked around and spotted the back of Anna's head and sat down next to her… only to find that it wasn't Anna at all!

"Hello, I'm Luna Lovegood," the girl said in a dreamy voice.

"Um, hi… I'm Kim Barkley," Kim replied. She got a good look at this girl. Luna was wearing earrings with orange radishes dangling from them and a necklace made of butterbeer caps. A permanently surprised look was on her face and her wand was tucked behind her ear.

"You must be the new Gryffindor," Luna said in her faraway voice.

"Yeah," Kim agreed. "What house are you in?"

"Ravenclaw," Luna answered, mistily.

"Oh, really?  That's cool," Kim replied.

Just then, Anna, Lauren and Ginny ran inside. By now, most of the class was already assembled.

"Hey, Kim," Ginny said sitting down to Kim's right.  She spotted Luna and greeted her as well, "Hey, Luna."

"Hello, Ginevra," Luna greeted dreamily, using Ginny's full name for some odd reason.  "You know, you have a very pretty name…"

Kim began to wonder if Luna always spoke this way or whether she was in some odd trance.  She was jerked out of her thoughts, however, when the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Hello, everyone," he welcomed briskly.  He seemed to be very young, as though he could have graduated only a year or two ago.  "My name is Professor Croft, and I'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher for the year and hopefully for longer."  He surveyed the room very carefully as though taking in their faces.  "What you will learn in my class will help you in the real world, especially with what is going on in our world today." Kim became slightly nervous.  Why did it seem like the Professor was staring right at her?  Professor Croft soon looked the other way, much to Kim's relief, and began taking the attendance.

Once everybody had confirmed they were present, he began the lesson.

"Today we will begin right out with ways to defend yourself.  Does anybody know the disarming spell, by any chance?"

Kim saw that everybody else in the class had raised their hand, so she looked determinedly at the floor.

"Miss Barkley, why don't you give us an answer," the Professor said when he also realized this.

Kim looked up at him, but she couldn't remember the disarming spell.  "I don't remember, sir."

"Why don't you give it a try," he encouraged.

"Um, _Avada Kedavra_?" she replied, not at all hopeful: she knew it was incorrect.

The class laughed, thinking she was trying to be funny on purpose and she smiled apologetically.

"Well that would be one way to defend yourself," he agreed with a small smile playing about his lips.  "However, it would also land you a cell in Azkaban." He seemed to be going over something in his mind. "If you were to point your wand at one living thing, Miss Barkley, and say the Killing Curse, do you think it would die?"

_Yes_, a voice in Kim's head said immediately, _remember that old Muggle you killed over the summer?_

"Maybe, sir," she answered.

"Yes, I suppose there is a chance that you might harm me in some way if you were to try it on me… but I'm not here to teach you the Unforgivable Curses," he said purposefully.

_Like I need to learn them_, Kim thought inwardly. _I've had the Imperius Curse on me so many times that I can't even begin to count them all._

"Does anybody else know what way there is to defend yourself without getting into trouble with the Ministry of Magic?" the Professor quizzed his class.

All of the hands rose once more and he surveyed the room for a possible candidate.

"Mr. Hoven," he said, finally picking on a Ravenclaw boy.

"The spell most commonly used for defending yourself is called the disarming spell.  It's an incantation that is pronounced 'Expelliarmus'," he answered without difficulty.

Kim realized that she should have known that one; she remembered Macnair mention it once, before teaching her how to do the Imperius Curse.  She glanced over at Terry Hoven, who was staring right at her. He smiled and she turned away, embarrassed.

"Perfect, five points to Ravenclaw," Professor Croft said happily. "You should do well on your O.W.L.S.  Now I want you all to get into pairs and practice the disarming spell.  Remember: _Expelliarmus_."

She spent the rest of the lesson practicing the disarming spell with Luna, who was her partner. While they practiced, they talked about things like the race of heliopaths Luna was convinced had joined the Dark Lord.  Kim did not know what heliopaths were, nor did she believe that the Dark Lord had any possession over them, but she found the conversation interesting enough, anyway.

Finally, when class was over, she said good-bye to Luna and found Ginny, Anna, and Lauren waiting for her outside the room.

"Herbology next," Anna announced as Terry Hoven walked by them and smiled at Kim.  Lauren and Anna began to giggle and Ginny suddenly had to tie her shoelace.

"What's so funny?" Kim asked, wondering if she was missing out on some inside joke.

"Oh, please," Lauren said, still a bit giggly, "don't tell me you didn't notice!"

"Notice what?" Kim wondered. Ginny coughed and decided to tie her other shoelace.

"Kim you have to be one of the most oblivious people I know!" Lauren exclaimed in exasperation as they left the castle and made for the greenhouses. "Are you telling me that you didn't notice that Terry Hoven couldn't stop staring at you? Throughout the entire lesson, he didn't do much of anything except look your way!"

"You could definitely do worse, Kim," Ginny agreed as they made their way to greenhouse six.

"I tell you, it's your haircut! You look stunning!" Anna gloated.  Kim just blushed scarlet as they walked into class and stood near some pots of odd plants.

Professor Sprout entered at that moment and stood before them all. "Good morning, everyone!" she called to them in a cheery voice that matched her looks like a perfectly fitting glove.

"Good morning, Professor Sprout," the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs chorused together.

"Today you'll be learning about St. Bartholomew's Crocus," she said in an equally cheery voice. "Can anyone tell me the purpose of St. Bartholomew's Crocus? Why do we use it?" About four people raised their hands, and Professor Sprout chose Ginny.

"St. Bartholomew's Crocus is used in Sleeping Draughts in Potions. It can also be quite dangerous once it's bloomed, as its petals are poisonous to the skin," she recited.

"Excellent, five points to Gryffindor," the Professor replied. "Now since our Crocuses haven't bloomed yet, they aren't poisonous.  I'm still asking you to put on gloves while you repot them, however, because they do have needles, which are very sharp."

They spent the rest of the class repotting dozens of the Crocuses, which seemed very pretty until one's needles poked Kim in the arm, reminding her unpleasantly of a bee sting.  After the lesson, the four of them trooped back up to the Great Hall, where they had a quick lunch and then ran up to Gryffindor Tower to exchange their books for their last class of the day.  Anna, Ginny, and Kim all had Divination, and Lauren had Muggle Studies.  Kim vaguely remembered Lucius Malfoy telling her that she didn't need to know about Muggles because "They don't know magic and are, therefore, unworthy of existence, and you should therefore, not bother taking Muggle Studies, because it's a complete and utter waste of your time."

Since they had a few minutes to spare, they watched a game of Wizard's Chess between Ron and Harry.  Kim didn't really watch the game, but rather focused on Harry with narrowed eyes.  Finally, when it was time to head to class (Ron had beaten Harry pretty badly), the seven of them (including Ron, Harry, and Hermione), all walked to their classes together.

When the sixth-years were out of sight, Lauren turned to Kim and demanded, "Why were you glaring at Harry the whole time?"

"I wasn't glaring at Potter," she replied, trying to think up a quick excuse.  "The sun was in my eyes.  I was right across from the window, you know."

Lauren seemed to accept this and didn't bring up the subject again.  Soon they switched hallways and the three girls pulled into Divination, which was the only class taught by a Centaur.

After the class, the girls decided to head back to the Common Room to drop off their books.  Kim was going to accompany them, until she spotted Draco walking down the hall toward her.  He saw her and stared so pointedly at her she realized that it was too obvious to be ignored.

"I'll meet you guys up there, okay?" she told her friends, who were looking at her and Malfoy suspiciously.

"Alright," Ginny agreed and the three of them disappeared around the corner.

"Come here," Draco commanded and pulled her into an empty classroom.

"Did you tell them?"

"I did," he answered.  "Father says that the Dark Lord looks both pleased and cautious at the moment." He looked around the room as though he were afraid something invisible might hear them, "You'd better give him some information soon, or he might think you've turned spy on him instead of on Potter.  You should go home for Christmas Break instead of staying here."

"I was planning on it," she replied. "I heard him saying that he was going to the Weasleys over Christmas break."

Draco smirked, "Potter can't get enough of those Weasleys… but they're a disgrace to the wizarding world."

"I know; I've become friends with Ginny, but also with another valuable source.  I've met Natalie Lupin.  Her father is in the Order of the Phoenix, as well as Arthur Weasley.  If you're going to keep in touch with any of the Death Eaters at any time, ask them for me whether I should see if I can manage to stay at one of their houses for the Christmas Break, instead.  The Lupins might be a bit more difficult to get into, but I might be able to manage it."

Draco smiled, "Will do. That's all."

Kim didn't bother thanking him and turned to leave, when he said, "You need to see if you can get an owl of your own sometime, Pettigrew."

"Don't call me that!" she hissed.  "There's all the chance in the world that someone could hear you…"


	3. Terry Hoven

Later that evening, as she was about to leave the Great Hall, she saw Luna heading off toward where she supposed the Ravenclaw Common Room must be.  She was all alone as she walked along the hallway, reading an upside-down edition of a magazine called _The Quibbler_.  A few other Ravenclaw girls were talking about her in the corner and laughing.

Kim felt infuriated.  She walked over to Luna and said her hellos.  Luna nodded and smiled at her before telling her about the latest sighting of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack that was sent to her father from Sweden by owl post.  Kim did not tell Luna that there was no such thing as a Crumple-Horned Snorkack: she figured that Luna probably got enough of that on a daily basis, anyway.

Kim finally said good-bye to Luna and was about to head off toward her own Common Room to get ready for bed, when Terry Hoven appeared out of nowhere.

"Hello, Kim," he said pleasantly.

"Uh, hi," she responded and dropped her Divination book and homework that she'd been doing during dinner.

She hastily grabbed her things and looked back up at Terry, realizing that somehow, her friends had managed to turn up right behind her.  She was kind of freaked out at how perspective they were.

"Um, Terry, I kind of have to get to my Dormitory," she said, trying to think of an excuse, "I'm really tired, you know? I usually don't do so much during the day…"

"We didn't do all that much today, though," he replied, frowning slightly.

"I know, but I'm just lazy," she replied with a fake laugh.

Terry smiled a bit, even though he looked slightly hurt and a bit confused.

"Alright, see you around."

"Yeah, bye," Kim replied and headed off the other way to catch up with her friends.

"What did he say?" Lauren asked, slyly.

"Hi and that's it," she answered truthfully.

"I don't see why you don't just go to Hogsmeade with him," Anna mumbled. "He'd probably do it."

"But I don't want to get into any relationships right now," Kim protested.

"Why not?  Every girl needs SOME love in her life.  Why not you?"

Kim didn't answer. Maybe they were right.  Why shouldn't she have some fun in her life?  And she might end up liking Terry Hoven, after all… maybe he just needed a chance…

Lauren, Ginny and Anna were silent for a few moments, while she turned this thought over in her head.  She was still in her trance when they reached the Portrait Hole to Gryffindor Tower.

Ginny said the password, they climbed the staircase to their Dormitory, got into their pajamas, and sat on their beds before any of them said anything.

"Well?" Anna finally broke the silence.

"When's the next Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Thursday," Lauren replied. "All of our Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons are on Thursdays."

"But we DO have Care of Magical Creatures on Monday of next week," Ginny added. "They're with the Ravenclaws."

"Terry IS in Care of Magical Creatures, right?" Lauren wondered.

"Yeah, he is," Anna replied. "I remember talking to him once during class."

"When's the first Hogsmeade weekend?" Kim wondered.

The girls grinned at one another. "October 15th," Anna replied.

"That's my birthday!" Kim exclaimed.

"All the more reason that you should go to Hogsmeade with a date," Lauren concluded happily.

"Maybe…" Kim replied slowly before drifting off into a deep sleep.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

She had a horrible nightmare.  She was in front of Voldemort who was asking her millions of questions that she didn't have answers to. When she turned up empty-handed, he told her how disappointing she was and that even her father was a better traitor than she was. She tried to ask what he meant when he said that her father was a traitor, but he just laughed and mocked her. Then he used the Cuciatus Curse on her for not giving him the right information, until...

"Kim, wake-up!"

She screamed and bolted upright.

"You were rolling around everywhere and flailing your arms like a madwoman and screaming!"  Kim could make out Anna's chalk-white face in the dark room.

"You look pretty pale, Kim," Lauren murmured.  Kim thought that Lauren should look in a mirror – her face was pretty pale, too…

 "Why don't you go down stairs into the Common Room for a bit?  Sitting by the fire might relax you.  Think about something good," Anna suggested, looking quite a bit calmer than she had a few moments ago.

"I think I will… sorry for waking you up," she apologized and went down the stairs to go sit by the burning embers of the late fire.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard voices coming from the room.  Not being especially in the mood to listen to what was probably a few third years gossiping over the duel that had taken place in the fourth-floor corridor just after lunch, Kim trudged back up the stairs to try and sleep again.  She closed the door and fell back into a dreamless sleep.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"I'm telling you, Hermione, that girl looks just like Pettigrew! I wouldn't be surprised if he had a niece or something!"

"Yeah and how do you explain that conversation between her and Malfoy that I heard part of?" Harry added. "She's in touch with the Death Eaters through the Slytherins!  She's stalking me."

"That would explain why she was glaring at Harry throughout that Chess game the other day," Ron continued.

"But she can't be!  When Peter was Scabbers, he was with Ron!  He didn't have any brothers or sisters and he wouldn't have been able to have had a daughter, would he?" Hermione replied.

"Hermione, you're one of the most brilliant witches I know," Harry said. "Surely you can see the connection?"

"I see a connection, but even Pettigrew isn't dumb enough to put her through Hogwarts without a disguise," she replied. "Although I'd like to believe it, I still need a little more proof before I would go to Dumbledore about it!"

"She changed her last name to Barkley!" Ron exclaimed.

"So?" Hermione hissed. "That just makes the proof harder to pinpoint.  Imagine how embarrassing it would be if Kim was actually innocent?"

"That's why Natalie is here," Harry replied.  "She's Lupin's daughter."

"I never knew Lupin had a daughter," Ron said, eyeing the girl with curiosity.

"True. Not many did," Natalie replied. "My father only found out about me when my mother died over the summer."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said instantly.

Natalie accepted the sympathy with a nod of her head.

"Kim acted a bit odd ever since I met her on the train," she said.  "When she asked my dad how to get onto the platform, she had to pause before she said her last name and she had a rat in her pocket that was squeaking like mad."

"Do you need any more proof than that, Hermione?" Ron interrupted, his face red with excitement.

"Hush, Ron, let her go on," Hermione answered, nonplussed.

"When I saw her again, she didn't have her rat anymore," Natalie continued.  "Later, when we were talking, she said something very odd.  She said 'All of the people in my house were in Slytherin.'  When I asked her what she meant by 'all of the people in her house', she said that she had meant to say 'her family'."

"That is very suspicious," Hermione admitted.

"Are you convinced now, Hermione?"

"I think I am," she replied. "What do you think we should do about it?"

"Go to Dumbledore," Ron suggested immediately.

"Maybe one of us should talk to her," Natalie contradicted.  "I could do it!  I could invite her over for Christmas Break and tell my dad what we think."

"That would be perfect," Harry replied.

"Does Lupin live at Grimmauld Place?"

"Yes, but not on #12. We live near there on #18."

"See if you can bring up the subject of family."

"I will."

"Perfect!  So we've got a plan.  Maybe we should feed her some false information…"

"I'll send a letter to my dad if you want," Natalie added.

"Alright, and I'll send one to mine," Ron agreed.

"Alright then. Good night all," Natalie concluded and climbed up the stairs to her dormitory.

Three dorm rooms shut and four students lay down to sleep, all squirming with the thoughts of what they might have to do to a fellow classmate.  One question was running through their minds, however: why had she been placed into Gryffindor?

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

By the time Monday rolled around, Lauren, Ginny, and Anna were all looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures more then they ever had.  They were all pressuring Kim so much that her mind was completely taken off of her job to spy on Harry.

"What do you suppose he'll say?" Lauren wondered for the 50th time.

"If you ask me," Anna replied, giggling, "you're more excited about this than Kim is."

Lauren protested, but said no more about it.  Kim was glad, because there was a lot going through her head at the moment.

"Hello, Kim," Hermione said, sitting across from her with a slightly forced smile.

"Hi, Hermione," Kim replied brightly.  "How are you?"

"I'm fine," she replied.

"I was wondering if you could help me out," Kim said, cutting up a pancake with her fork.  Hermione's smile dropped off of her face, but she didn't notice.  "Can you help me with my Transfiguration homework?  Ginny tells me you're brilliant and I don't get it."

"Sure, what don't you get?"

As Hermione began getting lost in the thrill of homework and explaining (for the first time) to someone who had actually asked for her help, Draco Malfoy approached.

"Kim," he said with a disgusted look on his face, "you can do better than making friends with a Mudblood."

"Oh, sod off, Draco," Kim replied coolly.  "She might not be pureblood, or even half-blood, but that doesn't make you any better than she is, now explain your purpose on coming here and ruining my day."

Odd, Hermione thought inwardly, why should she stick up for me if she's working with Malfoy?  Maybe there's more to this picture than we think…

"I need to talk to you," he said through the corner of his mouth.  "It's important."

"What could be so important that it can't wait?" Kim asked icily.

"It's about dad, you know... your uncle?" he replied, trying to say what he wanted to without Hermione catching on.

"Did he get his head stuck in the you-know-what again?" she asked, catching on to the code he was using.

"Yes."

Kim stared at him, then sighed as Hermione looked confused, "Do you mind, Hermione?  My uncle has this weird obsessions... he got his head stuck."

"Head stuck in WHAT?"

"Uh..." Kim looked at Draco for support. He was blushing scarlet as it was, positively embarrassed to a point of near explosion. "Never mind…"

She grabbed her homework, said one last 'thank-you' and hurried off, practically being dragged out of the Great Hall by Draco.

"How embarrassing," he muttered as they stepped into an empty classroom.

"Yeah, well, at least you can keep your own name here. Whenever someone says 'Ms Barkley, your pillow is on fire' or 'Ms Barkley, your robes are on backwards,' or 'Kim Barkley, you know more curses than I do and I'm a seventh year!' or 'No, Ms Barkley, Avada Kedavra is not the proper way to defend yourself', I have to think a minute to remember that that's ME that they're talking to," she retorted, flopping into an empty seat.

Draco eyed her weirdly.

"So, what did you need to say that's so important?"

"The Dark Lord wants you to see if you can worm your way into going to Lupin's house for Christmas Break. He also says that he's… well… you read it…" He took two pieces of parchment out of his pocket and handed her one of them.

Kim took the parchment and read what it said:

_Draco, give this to Kimberly,_

_We've been told that you've made "friends" with two different children whose fathers are in the Order of the Phoenix: Lupin and Weasley._

_Although we have gotten your message that Potter is staying at the Weasleys' house for Christmas Break, the Dark Lord wants you to stay at the Lupins' if possible. Be warned: Remus Lupin is a werewolf, so it is most likely that his daughter is one as well. If you can pull it off (it might be very difficult), then do so. If not, you are not to stay at the Weasleys' under any circumstances! We are planning an attack on their home and we don't want you to get in the way. That's all. If you can't stay at the Lupins', then come straight home. We need some help back here._

_Bella_

_P.S. You're not to marry Karl.  It might be difficult for you, but see if you can get someone whose parents are in the Order to fall for you at the moment.  It would be an easier tactic._

Kim read over the note twice, then handed it back to Draco. "I can't keep it in my dorm, because Lauren has a habit of going through everyone else's things. Thanks, though."

"No problem," Draco replied, "but just a request for the future: don't say to Granger that my father got his head stuck in anything."

"Gotcha," she replied and walked back to breakfast.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Later that day, during Care of Magical Creatures, Kim was watching the Erklings they were learning about with great interest.  It was then that Terry approached her.

"Hello," he said, sitting on the ground next to her, as she leaned forward with interest as Hagrid explained that Erklings entrance children using a high-pitched cackle before they ate them.

She whipped around, "Oh! Hi!"

"You seem pretty happy," he commented with a smile.

"Yeah, Erklings are cool, aren't they?" she replied, watching the little elfish creature chomp down on a dead snake. Things like this fascinated Kim greatly. Perhaps that was why Voldemort had told her to take care of Magical Creatures... also, of course, to spy on the half-giant, Hagrid, who taught it.  Apparently, he was in the Order of the Phoenix…

"Er..."

Quite the contrary, Terry seemed to think that the Erkling was a rather awful creature.

"I'm not saying that you have to like it," Kim said quickly, noticing the look on Terry's face. "I've always had this thing for dangerous creatures…"

"Well, did you ever meet one when you were a kid?  Because that could be why."

Kim laughed, "I've met so many dangerous creatures... I used to have a pet Runespoor when I was seven."

"Aren't Runespoors those three-headed venomous snakes?" Terry asked, his eyebrows raised so high they were in danger of disappearing.

"Yeah. Great aren't they?"

"Who gave you a Runespoor for a pet?"

"My dad, why?"

He looked at her with disbelief etched on his face, "Never mind…"

Kim spotted Ginny looking at her with a trying-not-to-giggle expression.  She decided to ignore her and just watched the Erkling feed on a few live insects that repulsed more of the class.

"So, you know that a trip to Hogsmeade is coming up before Halloween," Terry said casually.

"Really?  I've always wanted to see what that was like…" she lied.  If truth be told, she had no interest in Hogsmeade whatsoever.

"Yeah," he went on, encouraged by her apparent interest, "on October the fifteenth."

"That's my birthday," she said with a grin.

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"Well, er, I was wondering if you wanted to go to Hogsmeade… with me?"

She looked at him as though surprised that he would say something like that.  He looked hopeful.  She smiled and replied, "Sure, I'll go with you."

"Great!" he exclaimed, looking relieved.  "I'll see you on October the fifteenth, then."  With that, he moved off and Ginny, Lauren, and Anna all moved toward Kim to get the scoop.

"Well?" Anna asked impatiently.

"I'm going with him to Hogsmeade," she replied bluntly.

At that moment, Hagrid happened to ask the class if anyone would like to hold the Erkling and her hand shot into the air.  A few people away, Luna's hand slowly rose into the air as well.

"All righ' then," Hagrid chuckled. "Glad ter see yer interested."  He picked on Kim to come up first.

"He's so cute," Kim crooned happily.  Most of the class looked at her like she was sick in her head.

"He is, isn' he?" Hagrid said, beaming at her.  His smile faded when the Erkling bit her, however. "Sorry 'bout that…"

"It's okay, he was probably just scared," Kim replied, wrapping her bloody arm in her robes.

"Get up ter the Hospital Wing," the Professor ordered and she did as she was told.

When she got there and walked in, she saw only one other person.  Madam Pomfrey asked her to take a seat while she fetched her disinfectants.

"Miss Asthertet, you may leave. Your bones are officially re-healed. Get back to class," she said sternly to the first-year who was sitting on the edge of a nearby bed.  Then she rounded on Kim, "What have we here?"

"Erkling bite," she replied optimistically.

"I see," she replied, lowering her spectacles so she could look at her properly. "All right, Miss Barkley, hold out your arm… this may sting for a moment."

After a few minutes, Kim was healed again.  She was about to head back to class, but realized that classes were going to end in exactly one minute. So instead, she wandered down to the Great Hall for lunch and waited for her friends and possibly Hermione, who might be able to help her finish her Transfiguration homework.


	4. First meeting with Dumbledore

The days went on quickly and October the fifteenth was steadily creeping up on Kim.  Finally, what Kim had been threatening to do ever since she came to school happened: she was sent to Dumbledore's office for bad behavior.

She was almost glad that she was sent there: she'd wondered what a man like Dumbledore would have in his office.  She could really care less that she was in trouble, however: feeding a whole Fanged Frisbee to Mrs. Norris didn't seem like a bad thing to her, because Mrs. Norris had had it removed anyway and would now probably leave her alone while she was in the castle.

As she stepped into the office, the first thing that met her eyes was a lot of books.  She figured that a part of the library could've fit into this place and easily looked at home.  The next thing she noticed was a beautiful phoenix with lovely golden plume and fiery, glossy feathers.  She edged away from the bird nervously.

Then she spotted the Sorting Hat.  Unsure of whether or not she wanted to try it on, she slowly picked it up and put it on her head, plunging her sight into darkness.

"Bee in your bonnet, Miss Pettigrew?"

"Yes," she replied, feeling quite odd, being that she was speaking to a hat.  "I was wondering if you put me in the right house?"

The hat replied, "Many students have asked me this in the past, but I have never changed my mind.  Your father was in Gryffindor, as well, but I was hard-pressed to decide with him.  You see, I felt he would have done well in Hufflepuff at first, but I went against this thought and placed him in Gryffindor.  There was a time when he tried me on again in his later years…  Ah, he would have done so well in Slytherin then.  What's this?  I see that he hasn't told you anything about this, has he?  Well, you should ask him yourself… I am not the one to explain…"

"But was I put in the right house?" she repeated.

"Well, quite frankly, since you're passing information, you are a traitor. Like father, like daughter, eh?" the hat chuckled.  "I must express my feelings, however… I think you are going to fit into Gryffindor very well."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," the hat replied, irritably, "you don't belong in Slytherin. Why ask me a question, then question my answer?"

Kim put the hat back on its shelf, giving it a look.

"You must be wrong.  My father was a Slytherin… everyone that I know was or is a Slytherin.  You're just telling me lies, you stupid hat.  I really DO belong in Slytherin and you're just toying with me!"

The hat did not reply.  She silently huffed about this to herself, feeling very much as though she wanted to kick something.

"Ah, Miss Barkley, have a seat, please."

She looked up and saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk, patiently.  She sat, her ears growing very warm; how much had he heard?

"Professor McGonagall tells me that you fed Mrs. Norris a Fanged Frisbee," he said with a chuckle, blue eyes twinkling.

"Yes, sir," she replied, hanging her head and not wanting to look him in the eyes.  She hoped he hadn't heard her yelling at the Sorting Hat…

Dumbledore chuckled again and she looked up at him, wondering why he was not mad that she had nearly killed the Caretaker's cat.  "I have seen and heard a great deal of rule-breaking while I've been Headmaster here."

Kim began to wonder how he was going to punish her.

"Don't do it again," he said simply with a small smile.

She gazed at him, wondering how Voldemort could hate such a man.  Why would he be afraid of him?  Dumbledore seemed to be a man of kindness… not one who would battle with someone of such power as the Dark Lord.  Kim's head began to ache.

"What about my punishment?" Kim burst out, finally.  "Filch said he was going to hang me by my thumbs in the dungeons for three days!"

"There will be no punishment," he repeated, "as long as it does not happen again."

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Kim trudged back toward Gryffindor Tower, wondering how anyone could hate Dumbledore, when she suddenly remembered she was supposed to hate him, too.  She approached the Fat Lady's portrait and said the password ("Coro Boing"), then climbed inside.  She noticed Ginny in the corner, watching a game of Exploding Snap between Natalie and Harry.  She sauntered over and sat next to Ginny.

The first thing anyone said to her was, "I thought you got in trouble."

"Well, Dumbledore's a great person… he let me off…  My dad doesn't like him, but I think he's great," Kim replied.

"Dumbledore is a great Head," Harry agreed, not looking at her.  He was afraid that if he looked her in the eye, he would see his parents' betrayer.

Ginny was about to say something when the entire stack of cards exploded in Harry's face, singing his eyebrows.  They were all laughing when the Portrait Hole swung open and Ron and Hermione came in.  Harry stood up and thanked Natalie for playing cards with him and joined his friends.

"So, Kim," Natalie said, turning to her as Ginny occupied Harry's empty seat and began shuffling for a new deck. "I've got a bit of a predicament."

"Yeah?"

"Well, you see, I was going to ask you to come over this Christmas break…"

"I'd love to!"  This would make her plan a whole lot easier, at any rate.

"But if you did come over, it would be during the time that… well… during the full moon…"

"But what does that have to do with anything?" Kim asked, feigning a puzzled look.

"Well, my dad is a werewolf," Natalie replied, distributing the cards to herself and Ginny.

Kim raised her eyebrows so that they disappeared behind her bangs.

"Yeah, he is," Natalie said, noticing her face, "so maybe I could go to your house for the first half of it?  I'd have to go home two days before then to help him, but I'd be nice to be able to see you more often…"

Fear was obvious on Kim's face at that moment.  She realized it just in time and hid it behind a dull smile.

"I'll have to ask my dad.  I think he's having some friends over, so he might not let me, but I'll ask anyway," she replied, rising from her seat and heading to her Dormitory.

She opened the door to the fifth year girls' Dorm and lay down on her bed in an exhausted heap, wondering how she might get out of THIS predicament…

Kim put her head on the pillow and jumped up when she felt something underneath.  She lifted the pillow and saw a note and a package underneath.  She picked up the note and opened it. It read:

_Kim, my father found these mirrors. You can communicate through using them with the person who has the other. I've got the other one at the moment. Just say my name into the mirror and I will appear on the other end._

_Draco_

"That's interesting," Kim remarked.  She put the mirror up to her face and said, "Draco Malfoy."

"Hello," Draco said from the other side.

"How did you get this mirror into my Dormitory?"

"I have my ways…" he replied slyly and trying to look overly sneaky.  Kim knew him better.

"Did your owl deliver it?"

"Yes."

Kim began to laugh. "You'll never guess what… Lupin wants to come over to MY house this Christmas Break…"

"NO!" Draco yelled.  "What if she were to see the Dark Lord?"

"I know, I know, I'm not that dense," she retorted.

"Alright, good.  Just making sure… Have you chosen your desired Animagus form?"

"No, not yet…"

"How about a rat?" he suggested.

"No, I don't want to be like my dad," she replied, sticking out her tongue, "besides, I'd probably be an annoying white rat with the pink eyes and be mistaken for a lab rat and dissected."

"Okay," he said, raising one eyebrow.  "You do know that the Dark Lord will choose for you if you can't find something, right?"

"Ugh!  I don't want to be a snake…"

"What about a cat?  They blend in pretty well."

"Nah, McGonagall is a cat.  Why bother?"

"Yeah, I see your point," he agreed.  "A bat?"

"Yes, next you're going to suggest that I'm a vampire" she replied sarcastically.

"Well what do you want me to say?" he retorted, "tell you to become a pink flamingo?"

"Oh, yes," she replied sarcastically, "that would pass ANYONE by without a second glance…"

"Muggles sometimes have plastic ones in their yard…"

"Yes, now I'm going to be plastic!" she replied. "I'll just…"

"What about a weasel?" he interrupted.

Kim was about to protest, when she heard footsteps outside the Dormitory.

"I've got to go, someone is coming in," she said suddenly and touched the center of the mirror.  Draco disappeared.

"Who are you talking to, Kim?" Anna asked inquisitively.  As she started to make herself comfortable, Kim grabbed the note and crumpled it up.

"Myself," she replied irritably and went downstairs to practice the spell the were learning in Charms.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The next morning was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Ravenclaw again.  Kim gathered her books after breakfast and walked to Croft's classroom with Lauren, Anna, and Ginny. They met up with Luna on the way, much to Lauren's dismay.  Kim thought it was a bit mean of Lauren to be prejudice against Luna in this manner, although she didn't say anything when Lauren's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of Luna's radish earrings.

During the class, however, she had another close shave with the revelation of her secret. It was a mixture of the fact that she had mentioned owning a Runespoor (an illegal pet, to be sure), and also that she had mentioned another of the Unforgivable Curses for the twenty-fourth time.

"Kimberly," Professor Croft said gently, "were you home-schooled in Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Uh... sort of," she replied, thinking of the incident with her being put under the Cruciatus Curse to "persuade" her to clean her room.

"What exactly… er… how exactly were you taught... and by whom?"

Kim was beginning to think he was getting suspicious, as well as the class, who was watching her very intently for an answer.

"Well my aunts and uncles would all fling hexes and curses at me and I would try to block them," she replied, deciding on a rough image of the truth.

"Didn't your father try to stop this?" he asked, slightly horrified.

"Uh… no, my father helped them…"

"Was there a particular thing you did to make them behave this way?"

"No, well... I suppose partly because they were bored.  But I guess because needed training, too."

"Is there something _wrong_ with your father?" Croft demanded.

"He was, um..." she struggled for a reason and was saved by one of the Gryffindor boys.

James Livingston spoke up. "UNEMPLOYED!" he shouted, rudely, and out of turn.

"Yeah," she agreed, nervously, refusing to speak any more on the subject.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"This Hex is quite uncomplicated, but are there any questions?" asked the Professor after the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson was over.

Michael Chatfield raised his hand immediately, "Is it against the rules to break into the kitchens, hog-tie the house elves, and throw all of the food at the Slytherins?"

"That's a good question, Michael, but yes, it is against the rules," Professor Croft replied with a smile. "Does anybody else have a question?"

Orlando quickly spoke up, being friends with Michael, "Chocolate is a lot like wine, it tastes better after it's been aged a bit. NOT THAT I DRINK _WINE_, of course!"

"That's very interesting, Orlando, but unfortunately it's not a question.  Does anyone have a _question_?" the Professor said, looking around.  James raised his hand – being friends with Michael and Orlando - and the Professor swallowed a smile. "James?"

"Will you rub my feet?"

"No, I will NOT rub your nasty feet, James. Why don't you ask Mr. Filch?" Professor Croft said with a wide smile. "Class dismissed."

Giggling, the class rose and walked over to their next classes.  Kim dropped her bookbag and waved good-bye to Terry as he gave her a radiant smile.  She collected her books and shoved them into her bag, unceremoniously.

"Kim, might I ask that you wait for a minute?" Croft requested.

"Sure," she replied, dropping her books carelessly on the floor and sitting on the edge of her desk.

Croft waited for the class to empty before he said anything to her.

"I was wondering if you've been telling the truth about the things that you've been saying in class," he asked, seriously.

"Er..."

"Because if it's true, then I'm going to have to tell the Headmaster."

"No," she answered a little too quickly. He eyed her suspiciously and closed his briefcase with a snap.

"Well I don't mind you seeking a little attention," he said, "but don't get too deeply into lying or it will become a nasty habit. Enjoy your next class."  He didn't seem to believe her.

Kim nodded and pushed back the lump that was rising in her throat.  As she walked out of the classroom, she made a resolution to think about every little thing she said from then on to tone down on the suspicion.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Draco?" Kim asked into the little mirror that night.

"Yeah?"  He looked ready for bed.  His hair wasn't slicked back like it normally was, but instead was falling all over his face and was quite tousled.

"Nice look for you," she giggled.

"Oh, shut-up," he said with a yawn, trying to smooth his hair back. "Now what do you want?"

"I think Croft has caught on to me," she said in an undertone.

"You think?" he asked sarcastically.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Croft has a set of file drawers and one has your name on it," he replied. "What, you didn't know?" he said with a laugh at her horrified expression.

"What!  He DOES?"

"Yeah, I saw his file drawers in Detention with him. When he left me there, I snuck over to them and opened them up. There was one on you, one on Potter, a few on other various students – mostly seventh years, some lesson plans and one titled 'Ministry Work'."

Kim frowned, "That means that he's definitely NOT just a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor."

"We think he's an Unspeakable from the Ministry of Magic," Draco mentioned casually.

"And he has a file on me?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"That's the way it is.  You'd better tone down, or the Dark Lord will have no more use of you."

"Oh, that's nice," she replied sarcastically.  "What were you in Detention for anyway?"

"Provoking Weasley," he said with a smirk. "The Weasleys might as well go shove their heads in a toilet… mind you, it'd have to be a rather large toilet, seeing as there's so many of them," he said, laughing.

Kim didn't seem to think this was as funny as she normally would have, for some reason.


	5. Ooh, A Date!

It was the morning of October the fifteenth and it was late on Saturday morning.

"KIM, WAKE UP, OR I'LL HAVE LUNA SET A CRUMPLE-HORNED SNORKACK ON YOU!" Lauren yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Ahhhhh!" Kim screamed, jumping out of bed and clutching her pillow for dear life. Her heart was beating as fast as the time she'd been hit with the Cruciatus Curse by Evan Rosier, before Voldemort had turned and used the same curse on _him_ for using it on _her_. "What time is it?"

"It's an hour before your date," Ginny replied. "You might want to get ready."

"Yikes!" Kim squealed and grabbed her brush from her nightstand and began brushing her hair quickly.

Ginny smiled and shoved a piece of toast into her mouth for her. She choked.

"Fanks," she said with the toast in her mouth.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The hour went by quickly and Kim soon found herself walking towards the gates near the edge of the grounds. Terry was waiting for her there.

"Hello," he said with a smile.

A few Ravenclaw boys walked by and said hello to Terry, but didn't stop to say anything else. Kim watched Ginny, Anna, and Lauren walk off the grounds together. After them, Harry, Hermione, and Ron walked off in their own little trio. Behind them, Colin and Dennis Creevy exited. A few Slytherins went by before she spotted James, Michael, and Orlando entering Hogsmeade as well. James was looking at Terry with a very angry expression and Orlando and Michael were talking in heated conversation about something or another.

"Hi," she replied brightly. "Why was James Livingston looking at you that way?"

Terry cleared his throat, "We, er, had a row yesterday. Come on, let's go."

"Ooh, about what?" she asked eagerly.

Terry made an indistinct noise in his throat and walked out of the gates with her, not saying anything more.

"So – er – where do you want to go?" he asked.

"Anywhere is fine," she replied, "I've never been to Hogsmeade before."

They spent the day wandering around the village with each other as Terry showed her around the place. They stopped at the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer and watched a third year boy try to bribe the bartender to let him buy a firewhiskey, but to no avail. When they'd finished their drinks, he showed her the Shrieking Shack.

"It's supposed to be the most severely haunted building in all of Great Britain," he said, looking up warily at the ramshackle house.

"Cool," Kim whispered under her breath as she heard footsteps approaching. Whirling around, she saw James, Orlando and Michael coming up the stairs.

Kim said hello to them in a cheerful voice, which they returned before James rounded on Terry.

"Trying to spite me, are you?" he spat angrily.

"I TOLD you," Terry replied exasperatedly, "it wasn't me!"

"Sure," James agreed in a very sarcastic way.

"What?" Kim wondered, puzzled.

"Your _boyfriend_ put frog spawn in my bed!" James yelled delusionally.

"No, I didn't!" Terry replied, growing red in the face.

"He can't have," Kim murmured under his breath.

"Why not? There are ways for Ravenclaws to get into the Gryffindor Common Room," Michael replied, glancing at Orlando, who grinned, waiting to hear her logic.

"Ways? Oh, never mind, but he can't've done it, because it was _me_ who put the frog spawn there," she replied with a smile that didn't quite suit the situation.

A silence met this statement and was broken by Orlando, "Blimey! How is it that girls can get into our Dorm, when we can't get into theirs?"

"Excuse me?  Who was trying to break into our Dormitory?"

James and Michael immediately pointed to Orlando, who looked like a mouse in a cage with a cat.

"Well, you see..." Orlando began, but broke off.

"There's no reason for it… it doesn't matter," Kim interrupted, "as long as you didn't see anything important."  She had been thinking about the talks with Draco about the Death Eaters.

Orlando seemed to be thinking about something else.

"No, no, of course not," he replied, and looked pleadingly at his friends to leave.  They did.  But not before James shot another still-spiteful glare at Terry.

"Sorry about the frog spawn in the bed thing," Kim said timidly as they walked back around Hogsmeade.

"No, it's fine," he replied hastily.  "So, er, where do you want to go now?"

"I don't know.  Do you want to go back to the castle?"

"If you want to."

"It doesn't really matter to me," she answered indifferently.  "Hogsmeade is very interesting and I enjoy your company, but I've got a huge essay for Snape on the Draught of Peace due tomorrow that I haven't started…"

"Let's go back up," he agreed.  "I've got one for Binns that's supposed to be 13 inches…"

"Okay."

Kim was secretly hoping to get Draco to send something to her father.  She had also been hoping on informing Draco that Potter owned an Invisibility Cloak.  She had found out when she heard Ginny's brother, Ron, talking to Hermione about it.

Terry was staring at her in a curious way that Kim had never seen before.  His eyes were filled with some strange emotion that she could not recognize.  She tried to look away when the emotion got too much for her to handle, but found that she could not.  She didn't know what was happening.  She couldn't move.  She couldn't blink... and suddenly she could barely breathe.

The kiss started out as on brush on the lips, but it soon turned into something out of her control.  It made her head spin with several strange emotions.

When it was broken, Terry was looking at her with an intense emotion brewing in his eyes.  A silence was present for a moment, where Kim held her breath, as though afraid that if she decided to breathe, the world would shatter.

She finally managed to break her gaze away from his eyes, turned a lovely shade of crimson, and pretended that her feet were suddenly very interesting.

They walked toward the castle in silence.  _What just happened?_ _Did we just _kiss_? _was running through her mind.  She glanced at Terry who was still staring avidly at her.

They had reached the castle doors.  "I really like you, Kim."  She swung around to look him in the eye.  "Even if you don't, I do."  He seemed to be under the impression that she was angry with him.

She couldn't think of what to say.  This boy barely knew anything about her!  And here he was telling her that he liked her, possibly _loved_ her?

"But how can you like me," she said in a small voice, "if you barely know me?"

"I don't know.  I've just got a feeling."  He smiled at her in such a way that she could do nothing but smile back.  "Happy Birthday," he said, pulling a small package from his pocket and disappeared behind the corner before she could say anything to him.

She watched his retreat and looked at the package in her hands.  He was a fool… he was a fool if he thought he loved her when he knew nothing about her.  She threw the present away without opening it and said the password to enter the Portrait Hole.

She went up to her Dorm and threw things around the room for a half-an-hour before screaming into her pillow for another fifteen minutes.  Then she cleaned up after herself and went down into the Common Room to read a book.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Come dinnertime, she sat with Natalie, who was avidly reading a book and not saying much as she rapidly turned page after page.  This did not bother Kim: she was staring into space, her fork poised halfway to her mouth.

Terry had upset her: would she never find someone who understood her?  It was not that she minded him liking her… she was ready to simply ignore him for the rest of the year and possibly beyond.

People started to file out of the Great Hall.  Kim looked at her unfinished dinner and decided she wasn't hungry, anyway.  She pushed her plate away and followed a group of Gryffindor seventh years to the Common Room.  There, she decided to go to her Dormitory and sleep.  She got to the stairs and was going to climb them when a very odd sight met her eyes.

The stairs were no longer stairs, but instead was like a giant slide.  She then saw three large shapes sliding down the slide-like thing.

"That was great!  Let's do it again!" James exclaimed, landing with a thump at the bottom.  Orlando and Michael followed him.

"Um, can you wait until I get up the stairs?" Kim requested as the stairs re-formed itself.

Michael looked up at her and politely got to his feet and got out of the way.  But James and Orlando were both grinning mischievously.

"Why?  It's more fun to slide down than it is to walk up," James protested.

"You don't _want_ anymore frog spawn in your beds, do you?" she asked, crossing her arms angrily.

Orlando seemed to ponder the thought of frog spawn in-between his sheets and got up as well.  James got up, but didn't move out of her way.

"Do you really think _that_'s why I was giving your precious boyfriend a hard time?" he demanded spitefully.

"I suppose."

"Well it isn't," he retorted.

"Well what are you giving him a difficult time for, then?" she asked, wishing he would get out of her way.

He snorted and moved next to Orlando and Michael.  She looked at him for a moment before walking regally up the stairs, ignoring him.

"I don't think she likes you, James," Orlando remarked from the bottom of the stairs.  Kim slammed the door loudly.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Throughout breakfast the next day, Kim got into a conversation about Quidditch with Harry.  He seemed reluctant to talk to her at first, but finally decided it was better than trying to talk to Hermione, whose face was in a book.

"I want to try out for the team this year," she said.

"Well I'm the Captain this year," he replied, finally getting into the conversation.  "It's just me and Ron on the team.  Our two Beaters from last year resigned and our three Chasers have graduated."

"Yeah, Ginny told me - she said she's going to try out for a Chaser position," she replied, totally forgetting her mission to help in the destruction of this boy.  He was so easy to talk to.  "I think I'd like to be a Beater, but I'm not sure if I'd be any good."

"You'd do fine, probably."

"Yeah, but I've never played Quidditch before.  I've only just gotten a hand-me-down broomstick and learned to fly it," she replied.  "I'll be the worst one trying out!"

"But if you're a pureblood, why didn't you ride broomsticks when you were younger?"

"My Dad is afraid of them or something," she replied, rolling her eyes.  "He said that he's only been on one in his life and fell off… which is typical.  My Dad is really nervous and kind of a klutz," she said with a laugh.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah.  He's the most nervous person I know."

"Why is that?"

"Well I expect it's because-" she had to stop and remind herself that she mustn't reveal anything, "I... actually... I've got no clue."

"I never knew my Dad... my Mum either.  I suppose I knew them when I was really little, but I can't remember anything except blurs," Harry replied resentfully.

For the second time in her life, Kim felt a surge of anger directed toward Voldemort.  The first had been when she was seven years old and involved her mother… because her mother hadn't _really_ died in childbirth…

"My Mum was killed by him, too," she replied in a sullen voice.

"Your Mum was killed by Voldemort?" Harry asked.  He seemed surprised.

"Yeah.  I was seven when he killed her.  He left me there with her body and my Dad wasn't in my life at that point," she said bitterly.

"I'm sorry."  He truly seemed like he meant it.

"Likewise.  How do you manage to live with Muggles?"

"How do you know about that?" he asked suspiciously.

"My Dad told me about it."

"They're terrible."

"My heart bleeds for you," she replied.  Why was she suddenly feeling pity for this boy?  She was very confused.  "Well, I'm stuffed.  I'll go back to the Common Room.  It was nice talking to you."

"I'll see you at Try-outs," he called after her.

She hadn't gone even ten paces when Draco grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the Hall, dispite her numerous attempts to make him let go of her.

He dragged her out of the Hall and past a few Ravenclaw boys including Terry, who was watching Kim being taken somewhere against her will.  He looked at her as though questioning whether she wanted him to intervene.  She stopped struggling and pretended she hadn't seen him.

Draco stopped in a deserted corridor and looked around before going into an empty classroom.

"What was so important that you had to DRAG me out of the Great Hall without giving me a slight-"

"You're coming to my house this Christmas Break," he intervened.

"Careful, Potter might be under his Invisibility Cloak," she replied sarcastically.

"Invisibility Cloak?" he repeated, alarmed.  Grabbing an odd stick off a nearby desk, he began hitting the air with it.

"Oh, come off it!  I was just talking to him in the-"

"Ouch!" an intoxicated-sounding voice exclaimed after Draco had hit something invisible with the stick.

"Aha!" he cried and ripped off an Invisibility Cloak making a student become visible once again.

It was the boy Kim had seen trying to order firewhiskey in the Three Broomsticks.  He looked as though he couldn't quite see straight and smelled strongly of alcohol.

He hiccuped and held out the one of his hands for Kim to shake, as the other was clasped tightly around the neck of a bottle containing a strange alcoholic beverage that was smoking.  "Hi, I'm Randy Fletcher!  But my uncle calls me Brandy.  Brandy Randy at your service!"  He hiccuped again and seized Kim's hand and shook it violently.

"What are you doing here, Randy?" Kim asked.

"Drinking firewhiskey!" he roared, swinging the bottle.  "I couldn't get it off of that lady in Hogsmeade, so I got some off the Black Market from this Gryffindor bloke!"

"Gryffindor-?"

"Name's Orlando!  I'm sure he'd love to give you some if you asked!" he said, then slumped to the floor and began snoring loudly, the bottle falling from his hands and spilling all over the floor.

"Orlando!" Kim cried.  "Orlando Gardner?"

Draco stared at her oddly, "This Orlando guy... are you… connected?"

"What?" Kim cried, her eyes popping.  "Never in my life!  He's a half-blood!"

"Oh," he said in disgust.  "Damned half-bloods.  I think it'd be something the Weasleys would do... marry some Muggles… it's disgusting."

Kim was not laughing at this.  Ginny hadn't been anything but nice to her.  Ron was a little suspicious, but she found that he was almost as nice as Ginny was.  What was so wrong with the Weasleys?  Kim couldn't understand any more… she began to grind her teeth as Draco laughed.  She suddenly felt ashamed at herself for making a snide remark about Orlando's heritage.  No, she was definitely _not_ laughing.

"Why am I going to your house?" she inquired, when he finally shut-up.  Brandy Randy was still snoring.

"Oh, right," he replied, getting back to business.  "The Dark Lord is christening me a Death Eater and he wants to give you a test before you're accepted as one."

A Death Eater?  Her?  Oh, what an honor!  It's what she had been waiting her entire life for...

"All right!  Finally!  Yes, I'll definitely come to your house, then!"

"Good.  We're planning an attack on the Weasleys' house," he laughed harshly, "I've already asked permission to kill Potter's faithful side-kick…"

...Or was it?


	6. Christmas and Quidditch

Thank you everyone for your reviews!

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

It wasn't long at all before Kim was on the Quidditch Pitch for the Gryffindor Team try-outs. Since Harry and Ron were the only ones on the team, there were quite a lot of people that were trying out.

Ginny was there as well, planning to try-out for a Chaser position. She was the first one called up to try and score. She did very well and seemed to be a natural flyer.

Kim began to shake in anticipation. As Ginny's turn ended, several other Gryffindors flew around in turn, trying to score at Ron. Ginny, however, was clearly going to make the team, as was Orlando Gardner, who had outstanding skill.

When Harry called out for the Gryffindors who were trying for the Beater position to come over, she stepped nervously forward, as did three other people. All three were boys, and one happened to be James Livingston.

_No_, she moaned silently, _anything but him!_

But she had to admit that James was a superb Beater. She was the last person called up to try-out, and by the time it was her turn, she was shaking with such nervousness that she was surprised she didn't fall over from the sheer force of it.

When it was her turn, she flew into the air with the bat. A rush of happiness overwhelmed her, as well as a lovely sense of power. As a Bludger headed for her, she nearly lost her nerve.

_But_, she reminded herself, _I was the one who chose to do this in the first place._

The Bludger was too close. At the last moment, she swung her bat at it with all her strength. It went whizzing to the other side of the field from the impact. The other headed for her, and she swung at that one too, beginning to feel in control.

She could feel the adrenaline rushing through her body as both Bludgers rushed for her at once. She took them head on and swung with all her might one way and then the other way as the other closed in toward her. She chased after one of them and hit it with an immense power that she didn't even know she possessed. The first Bludger rushed for Ron, so she sped after it and beat it out of the way before it hit him.

"All right, you can come down now, Kim!" Harry called from the ground. She landed, giving him a look of question as to whether she'd done well.

He smiled back a little, but enough to be very conspicuous. She sighed in relief and happiness: she had done well. That was all that mattered to her. She looked over at James, who seemed to be watching her. She gave him a look, but he just sneered back.

Ginny gave her a thumbs-up and Kim began to glow. She had really done well, then. She was quite proud of herself.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The next week, there was a small crowd of people gathered around the Gryffindor House's announcement board. It occurred to Kim that it was probably the Quidditch try-out results.

"Well, Barkley," said a voice behind her as she turned to look at who it was… James. "It looks like we'll be Beaters together, then."

"Wha-?"

He smirked, "You've made the Beater position. So have I." He rumpled up his hair, messy as it was.

For the first time, Kim noticed that he was rather good-looking. His hair was handsomely messy, falling nicely in his face, and a beautiful hue of chestnut brown. His sapphire eyes were staring at her through the hair that was falling in his face.

Snapping out of her little moment, which disturbed her greatly, she came up with a reply, "Too bad," and stalked off before she had to talk to Orlando, too, who was coming over.

She looked over at Orlando for a minute, inspecting him, the way she had done to James. He wasn't quite so good-looking, but was nonetheless, attractive. His dirty-blonde hair was flopping in his face much in the same way that James's was. He had brown eyes that were laughing at James in a sparkling sensation.

She tore her eyes away from them and saw that Ginny was looking at the board, so she went over and joined her there. She looked at the list of names listed for new Quidditch Players:

_Chasers: Ginny Weasley, Orlando Gardner, and Evan Youngblood._

_Beaters: James Livingston and Kim Barkley._

The sight made her smile. She turned to Ginny and congratulated her. Ginny smiled, too and shook her hand.

"Congratulations to you, too, Kim!" Ginny exclaimed. "Think about it! We get to get completely muddy and bloody and whatnot together!"

Kim grinned as Ginny went off to go congratulate James, Orlando and a second year named Even Youngblood, whom Kim had never noticed before.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Before Kim knew it, Christmas Break was rounding the bend and she found herself facing three weeks of wintry break with Draco Malfoy.

Natalie approached her earlier that week and asked about the situation. Not liking to lie to Natalie much, she told the truth and said that Draco had offered her to go to his mansion and that her father wouldn't have appreciated company anyway and that she was sorry. Natalie cast her an accusing look and then started chatting on about something completely irrelevant that Kim wasn't paying attention to in the slightest.

During this chat, Kim noticed that her eyes strayed over to Harry every so often… she had been spending a lot of time with him lately… but this went with the fact that she was spying on him, so she did not let it trouble her.

Natalie seemed to notice that Kim's enthusiasm was very limited and said goodbye. She left haughtily and Kim called back to her as she stalked away, "Happy Christmas!"

She trotted over to the Great Hall, where she sought out Luna and wished her a lovely holiday. She said her good-byes to Hermione and thanked her profusely for helping her get the hang of her homework in her O.W.L. year, and told Eric and Ethan that she'd be seeing them around.

She said good-bye to Ron and Harry, and then to Anna and Lauren. Her eye caught Terry's for a moment. They held what seemed to be a staring contest for a few seconds and then he looked away. Kim was surprised to feel that she didn't care, however, so she bid Michael a "Happy Christmas" as well as a rather stiff one to Orlando (whom she had not spoken to since she realized that he was selling alcohol through a black market) and James. Then she realized she could not put off Ginny's good-bye any longer.

The words from Bellatrix's letter were ringing in her ears: _You are not to stay at the Weasleys' under any circumstances! We are planning an attack on their home there and we don't want you to get in the way…_

"Ginny," she said, sliding down into the seat next to her at the Gryffindor table.

"Oh, I was wondering when you were going to say good-bye to me. You even said good-bye to my _brother_ before you said anything..." she complained with a small smile.

"Yeah, sorry," Kim replied.

Those words seemed so long ago, but were they really? Time seemed to be flying around without any sense at all. 'Y_ou are not to stay at the Weasleys' under any circumstances! We are planning an attack on their home there and we don't want you to get in the way…_'

"Something wrong?" Ginny inquired, noticing the faraway frown on Kim's face.

"Yeah, come here," Kim replied through the corner of her mouth.

"Can't I finish dinner?" she asked, looking wistfully at the food lain in front of her.

"No. It's a life-and-death situation. I have to tell you before I loose my nerve."

'…_We are planning an attack on their home…_'

Ginny moved over closer, abandoning her dinner. "All right."

Kim took a deep breath; her heart was thumping against her chest as though someone was swinging a mallet at it. She took another breath and opened her mouth to speak.

'…_We are planning an attack on their home…_'

"Okay, this really isn't easy, so you'll have to take my lack of facts or proof without question. Can you do this?" Ginny nodded and Kim took another deep breath, "You can't go home to your house this Christmas Break."

"Why not?" Ginny interrupted, confused.

Kim fought the instinct to run away. She almost told Ginny to forget it and fled, but the realization that she would never see her best friend again if she didn't do this washed over her.

"Please don't interrupt me, Ginny, it's very important," Kim whispered, wildly. "You can see your family, but don't stay at your house! It's not safe. Death Eaters, Ginny… They're coming to your house. It's not safe. You can't stay. They want to kill your whole family. Don't tell anyone I told you…"

Ginny looked alarmed. "How do you know all this?"

"I told you: I can't tell. I'm not supposed to tell you. Just stay safe. I don't want to loose you Ginny. You're one of my best friends. You were one of the first. Please, just stay anywhere else. Somewhere hidden. Stay at Hogwarts and keep Ron here, too, if you have to…"

"Are you-?" Ginny asked, her eyes widening. "You're a-!"

"No, no, no, I'm not!" Kim cried. "Just, please, don't..."

She hurried away without a backward glance, although she could feel Ginny's eyes on her back as she hurried away.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

On the Hogwarts Express that afternoon, Kim sat in the same compartment as Luna, Harry, Ginny, and a Gryffindor in Harry's year named Neville Longbottom. She was almost glad that Ron and Hermione were Prefects and were, therefore, in a different compartment because it was bad enough that Ginny was in the same compartment… add Ron and Kim might at well be sitting with a bunch of irate axe-murderers.

Ginny's eyes were on her, but she refused to turn, or to look at her. Luna sat reading her usual magazine, _The Quibbler_, which was upside-down. Neville was engrossed in a Herbology book, and Harry was talking to Kim about her newly acquired Beater position.

"...And Ginny told me that you don't really get along with James," Harry was saying and smiling while he said it with a hidden meaning. "I don't blame you: from the looks of him, he's just like my father was."

All eyes turned to him.

"I saw my dad at fifteen in a Pensieve," he went on, aware of his audience. "He was always rumpling his hair, being arrogant. In fact, he was named James as well. He seemed to act the same way... even had a best friend that acting like Orlando, and another friend, who acted like that Michael bloke."

Kim sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I can't stand him. He makes me sick!"

Just as she said that, the compartment swung open and James stood there, framed in the doorway.

"Er, Harry, can I talk to you about-" he stopped and saw Kim there. "Barkley," he acknowledged, his voice very suddenly becoming deeper. "I wanted to talk to our Captain about our dilemma. I really don't know how I'll be able to do my job without having to worry about you getting injured-"

"I can take care of myself, Livingston!" Kim growled.

"Ah, but, Barkley, I have never seen such a klutz before… tsk, tsk, setting pillows on fire and nearly scorching away your flesh…"

"I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF, LIVINGSTON!" she bellowed.

"Er, Kim-" Harry was quickly becoming reminded of Snape's Pensieve and his parents' words: "_You think you're funny! But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone!" Lily had said, angrily._

_"I will if you go out with me, Evans," James had replied, "Go on, go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."_

_To which Lily had replied, "I wouldn't go out with you if it were a choice between you and the giant squid!"_

_Sirius had butted in at that point and said, "Bad luck, Prongs..."_

"You're just arrogant and self-centered and a bully, Livingston!" Kim screeched at James, who had crossed his arms angrily and was beet-red. "You've got no sense, either! Now go away!"

"I will if you go out with me, Barkley," he replied quickly, un-crossing his arms and crossing them again. "Go on... go out with me…"

Harry stared at them, waiting for Kim's answer with anticipation.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it were a choice between you and the Bloody Baron!" she yelled, getting up and stalking past him into another compartment, punching him hard in the stomach as she passed and kicking him in the shins to add to the effect.

"Bad luck, James," Orlando said, coming into the compartment what he was up to. "I suppose you should leave her alone... she's got a bad temper...personally, I don't know what you see in her… she's all looks…"

James began panting from the blow to his stomach as Orlando rattled on.

"What just happened?" Harry asked aloud. It was as though Lily and James had been reincarnated…

"Well, if you ask me," Michael said, rounding the corner with a book about the O.W.L.s in his hands, "it looks like James just got turned down by Kim."

James made a lunge at Michael, who took a step to the side and let James go flying into Orlando, knocking them both to the ground.

"I know, but..." Harry decided he would have to tell Lupin when he got to #12 Grimmauld Place; Ginny had not said why, but they apparently weren't going to the Burrow.

"Well, Kim has been in a bit of a sour mood with James ever since he tried to unbutton her cardigan in the Common Room after Charms-" Michael ducked from James' fist coming at him "-and apparently with Orlando, too, although I've got no clue why…"

"Never mind," Harry muttered, turning to James. "You'll just have to not be so forward. If you start dating in the seventh year, though, tell me: it's too much of a coincidence…"

"What's a coincidence?" Michael asked, curiously, peering over his book as James groaned and massaged his shins, where Kim had kicked him.

"Nothing," Harry replied, smiling to himself. The coincidence between Kim and James and the Lily and James from 30 or so years ago made him happy for some reason.

Kim, however, got off the train in a rather foul mood and snapped at Draco several times for very small things.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

When Kim finally reached Draco's estate, a very unwelcoming person met her at the large, oaken doors.

"Kimberly," a deep voice rumbled. She turned and saw the last person she wanted to meet here: Karl Lestrange. In fact, his parents, Rodolphus and Bellatrix weren't too far away, engaged in conversation with none other than Lucius Malfoy, himself.

"Hello, Karl," she replied, coldly.

"You're different," he said, not noticing – or not caring about – her tone of voice. "You got pretty since we last met."

"Ah, yes," she said with a traditional evil smirk. "You and the entire male population at the age of fifteen at Hogwarts seem to have noticed."

Karl looked at her with annoyingly wide eyes.

"Now if you've got nothing important to say, I'd like to put my trunk somewhere. It's rather heavy." And with that, she moved off to the room she always stayed in when she was at Draco's mansion.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Later that evening, she, Draco, Lucius, the Lestranges and a man named Walden Macnair, Apparated to the place where Voldemort had called them. Kim was relieved to be able to Apparate illegally again. It was as though not breaking the law had upset her mind in some way and she felt relieved to do it again… like an addiction. In fact, she loved it so much that she decided to Apparate every few feet.

This obsession was also a good thing for her, because Karl kept trying to corner her. He almost seemed to give up on her, when she began Apparating so many times. Once, however, he caught her off guard and snaked an arm around her waist, making her squeal in surprise.

"You're sick. Go away. Leave me alone, Karl," she spat at him before Disapparating several feet ahead of him.

"Having fun with Lestrange?" Draco asked with a smirk.

"You almost wish," she hissed at him. "If we were allowed to do magic outside of school, I'd hex him where he stands."

_Merlin,_ she thought. She had quite forgotten how tough you had to appear to be a Death Eater. You had to endure a lot more than creeps like Karl. _I'm going to have to work extra-hard at this_, she decided. Hogwarts had, undoubtedly, made her go soft…

"Yeah, well, just make sure that he won't distract you from our mission together," he whispered. "Let him into your skirts if you need to-"

"Never," she hissed so forcefully that Draco looked stunned at her for a moment.

"Oh, I get it," he said, brightly. "You're saving that for your Ravenclaw boyfriend… What? You didn't think I'd find out? Well, I have."

"It's not my fault," she replied in an undertone, realizing that she had to lie. "It's not like I actually _liked_ him… I was only in it to hurt the dirty Mudblood. I happen to like breaking hearts, thank-you very much."

Draco snorted: he clearly didn't believe her. "You can work on Potter, then."

"I'd never... But I... Do you... I can't... _Do you realize what the Dark Lord would say to that_?" she spluttered.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, falling silent, when he saw Kim's father approach. "And my last words to you for the evening will be this: Hogwarts is permitting students to use spells outside of school now that the Dark Lord has returned."

Kim almost blew up in his face, but he smirked and Disapparated away so suddenly that Kim was left to take it out on her father.

"Kimberly," Wormtail greeted as Draco left her there. "It's been very quiet without you…"

"Well I'm glad to know my presence has been missed," she replied coldly.

"I expect the young Malfoy has told you of the plan?" he asked, wringing his hands.

"Yes, he has. I'm ready for it," she said, not paying him much attention as she examined her fingernails.

"Good, good," he murmured. "Is it... is it true that you got into Gryffindor?"

"Yes," she replied, stiffly, as though she had been displeased with the placement.

He looked at her for a moment as though he was seeing himself all over again. "You know, I was a Gryffindor when I was in Hogwarts. I turned to the Dark Side after I'd graduated…"

"Why didn't you tell me that?" she hissed venomously. "It would have saved a lot of thinking when the Sorting Hat told me it had put me in the same house as my _traitor_ father."

He seemed to almost be afraid of her now. "You've become powerful," he commented.

"Yeah, but lately I've been venting my anger on the Bludgers ever since I made the house Quidditch Team. But it hasn't been enough. I need more power. I want to finish my Animagus training, father. I'm so close to becoming one that I can almost taste it."

"Have you chosen your animal?" he inquired meekly, clearly aware that she was in charge now.

Kim hesitated, "I'm still thinking."

"I can't teach you without you knowing what animal you want to become," he told her timidly. "You've completed everything else."

"Fine. I'll think up my animal, then," she retorted in the same venomous tone that she was suddenly accustomed to using.

"Tut, tut, family squabble?" said a greasy voice behind Kim's ear that sounded horribly familiar. She turned around... right into the face of Severus Snape.

"Snape," said Wormtail in a pathetically weak voice. "I believe you haven't really met my daughter, Kimberly?"

Snape said nothing and stared at Kim, as though searching her mind.

"Oh, please, Snape, it's rude to stare," she hissed, coming to her senses. "Used to seeing me in Hogwarts uniform, I suppose? Hanging around with my _Gryffindor_ pals, perhaps? Learning to call me 'Pettigrew' instead of the usual 'Barkley' that you always yell at me before docking points from my house for no reason at all might be difficult, will it not?"

"You need to learn some respect," he hissed back at her, his pallid face tinged crimson.

"And you need to wash your hair," she spat and Apparated from sight, fed up with all of the creeps she'd been forced to deal with in such a short period of time.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Malfoy... Pettigrew..." a voice said angrily at the door.

Kim and Draco both turned toward the doorway to see a Death Eater named Jugson standing in the doorway.

"Is it time?" Draco asked excitedly. A maniac glint of sick amusement was shining in his eyes. He began toying apprehensively with his traditional, black Death Eater's robes.

"Yeah, the Dark Lord says you need to go now," Jugson replied. "I'm going with you to make sure you do it, and to teach you how to cast the Dark Mark after you're done."

He did not seem pleased, but more as though he would not being doing so if it were not under his master's orders.

"I thought Bornin and Travers were coming as well," he said, frowning from the lack of audience for his first kill.

"They have better things to do then to watch us kill the Weasleys," Kim said in a monotone.

"Very good," Jugson said, irritably, "at least one of you has some sense. Now come on and let's leave."

Draco shot Kim an evil look, which she did not return, before following Jugson out of the door and almost knocking Snape over as he excited with an angry flash.

"Watch it, Malfoy," Snape said, icily and watched Kim as she exited behind him.

"Soon-to-be-Death-Eaters on their first kill, eh, Jugson?" Dolohov asked, striding by, as Snape watched them leave with a strange look upon his face.

"Get lost, Dolohov," Jugson spat, "I didn't volunteer to baby-sit the kiddies."

"Shame. It would seem that you'd have something better to do..."

"Crabbe and Goyle weren't here," Jugson said, gripping his wand and grinding his teeth.

"Are you really that low on the chart?" Dolohov asked lazily, clearly enjoying making Jugson steam. "Because I personally-"

It happened in a flash and a yell from Jugson, and before anyone would figure out what had happened, both Jugson and Dolohov were unconscious on the floor.

"Damned prats," Rookwood said from the corner where he was comparing something Kim suspected was illegal on a slip of parchment with Rosier. He let out a stream of swears. "Snape, Mulciber! Get these two beslubbering, loggerheaded, boil-brained, fool-born, foot-licking clotpoles out of my sight. I'll take Malfoy and Pettigrew to the Weasleys. Hell itself knows, I'd like to see my cousins writhe in pain," he said with a harsh laugh. Kim gave him full points for the original swears.

"We can do it ourselves," Draco hissed under his breath.

"Too bad," Rookwood snapped, before opening the door and Disapparating. Draco swore and Disapparated as well.

Kim stood there for a few seconds watching Travis Mulciber heave Jugson to his feet. Snape was using a levitation charm on the unconscious Dolohov. She tore her eyes away and looked up at the moon. It was full. She realized that somewhere, wherever Natalie was, her father was a werewolf. She whispered a small prayer that Ginny and her family had cleared out. Then she Disapparated.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The Weasleys' house was run-down and must have been held together by magic. There were several chickens in the front yard and three pigs in a muddy pen. The garden was overgrown and the house looked as though it might look nicer if it had been destroyed. A gnome quizzically popped its head out of a hole in the garden.

Draco snorted from Kim's right, clearly unimpressed. "Even I expected better than _this_," he said with a laugh under his breath.

Kim felt her hand clench in her robes. It wasn't for Draco to decide that the Weasleys were beneath him, just because they were poorer than he was. Still, she was here to kill them, so she doubted it mattered. She could only hope that Ginny had persuaded her family to take her advice...

"Most of the lights are off," Rookwood muttered. "Good... they're sleeping. Now which one did you want to kill, Malfoy?"

Draco smiled and said, "Ronald. I'll pick him out."

"Good, good, you can do things yourself, then," Rookwood muttered. "Pettigrew, who first?"

"I'm going to start with the pigs and chickens," she said, pretending to be excited, "I might as well make a thorough job of it."

Rookwood smirked, "Precisely. Alright, then… go on…"

"_Avada Kedavra_," Kim muttered, breathlessly.

Without a single squawk, the chickens became lifeless and limp.

"_Avada Kedavra_," she muttered again, feeling the adrenaline surge through her veins like poison.

Without a single squeal, the pigs died and flopped dejectedly into the mud.

"Nice performance. Now, let's go inside. You'll be practicing stealth now, so shut-up, no talking, and if either of you dares to trip over anything…"

Rookwood had clearly taught soon-to-be-Death-Eaters before, Kim realized. He was an excellent teacher.

_All right, Ginny,_ Kim thought to herself, _I sure hope you've cleared out, because here we come!_


	7. The Christening

"Ruined!" Draco shouted angrily, flopping onto his bed. "Ruined! Damned Weasleys!"

"It's not our fault," Kim replied, sitting on the edge of his bed while he fumed.

"Mark my words," Draco said angrily and tossed a hex at the lamp above in frustration, knocking it to the floor, "the Dark Lord will blame it on us!"

"But we got to kill some Muggles. I don't see what the point is..."

"_You_ didn't kill any Muggles," Draco spat. "You only used the damned Imperius Curse to make that damned man and his damned son jump out of his damned five-story window. You might have used the Cruciatus Curse on the entire family, but you didn't kill anyone!"

"I did so! Jumping out a window is killing, is it not? And besides, it's not like I could have used the _Avada Kedavra_ anyway," Kim hissed as the knocked down light burnt out. "_Lumos._" A light appeared at the tip of her wand. "You killed them all before I had a chance!"

"Yeah, well... fine," Draco said angrily, lighting his own wand. "Stupid Weasleys..."

Kim smiled in the darkness as he extinguished his wand light after a moment. _Thank-you, Ginny. I really didn't want to kill you. Thank-you..._

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"So you attacked some Muggles, instead, when you realized the Weasleys weren't there?" the voice of Lord Voldemort said icily.

"Yes, master," Kim replied, standing almost nearly straight and upright.

"Very good," he replied. "An excellent change in plans. Most of the sniveling brats that wish to become Death Eaters under my service would have come back without blood on their hands, so to speak."

His voice was like nails scratching on a chalkboard and his eyes were mere slits, like a snake's. In fact, the man called Voldemort resembled a snake in so many ways that if he had suddenly grown a forked tongue and began spitting venom at her, Kim would not have been surprised.

"Thank-you, master," Draco groveled, kissing the hem of Voldemort's robes. Kim was disgusted at this behavior… Voldemort may be powerful, but there really wasn't much of a reason to be crawling around the floor as though he had suddenly found himself without any spine.

Voldemort seemed to have noticed this difference, as well, in his audience, but said nothing. He simply watched Kim with a keen eye. "Did you dispose of the Muggles properly?"

"Yes, master, I used the Killing Curse on them," Draco replied automatically and seemed to try and blame something on Kim out of his jealousy, "but she didn't. She used the other two curses."

"I used the Imperius to make a man and his son jump out a window," Kim hissed at Draco, becoming less impressed with him. "Isn't that killing? Isn't the Cruciatus Curse Muggle torture?"

Voldemort let out a high-pitched cackle and watched Kim in a way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Her heart was beating a thousand miles a minute. "A true Death Eater! Hold out your arm!" It wasn't a choice… it was an order.

__

This is it, Kim thought through clenched teeth, _there's no turning back now._

She did as she was told and suddenly felt a white-hot searing burn seem to cut through her arm. She gritted her teeth and refused to scream. A small whimper exited her mouth, but it could not be heard over the whispers that went around the circle of Death Eaters.

Then the worst part of the pain left. Kim dared herself a look at her left arm and saw with astonishment that a skull with a snake twisting through its mouth was imprinted there. She was doused with the horrible smell of burning flesh.

The Mark still smarted, but Kim ignored it with all her willpower. She kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes (very quickly, so she would not appear to be as spineless as Draco appeared) and thanked him only once before retreating to the shadows in between her father and Karl, where her new place was.

"And Malfoy junior," Voldemort said quietly. "You'll do well on a middle-rank." The process was repeated, but Malfoy gave an audible yell as it was burned into his arm.

Kim glanced at the stinging mark on her arm, feeling sick to her stomach at the awful imprint: _no, there was definitely no turning back now…_

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Kim went to her room that night, still quite nauseated by the disgusting mark on her arm. She had already come to hate the ugly brand and wished she owned a Time Turner, so she could reverse it happening in the first place. Quite angrily, she leapt onto her bed to brood, only to find a furry thing beneath her. It mewed and she jumped back up and screamed.

She stared at the little ball of fur that was in her bed. She walked over to it and picked it up, confirming her thoughts: it was a Kneazle.

"Hello, little guy, what're you doing in here?" she asked, carefully picking it up.

The tiny Kneazle mewed pitifully.

"Aww, you're so cute! You just need a mommy, don't you?" she crooned, glad to have her mind off the Death Eater christening for the time being.

Then Draco burst in the door, "Who screamed?"

"I did."

He looked at her and the Kneazle and raised an eyebrow. "Why? Because of that thing?"

"He's cute, isn't he? I'm his _mommy_, 'cause he's an orphan... hey! I have an idea! Why don't _you_ be his daddy!" she exclaimed. She knew Draco was angry with her, but he seemed to be too absorbed in contradicting her at the moment and temporarily forgot…

"No way!" he said taking a step backward. "Not me!"

"Oh, yes," she snapped. "Hey, little guy, you've got a daddy now, too!"

Draco grumbled a bit, but seemed to realize that his attempts to dissuade her were fruitless. "Fine. Just don't mention it to anyone…"

"I'm going to take care of you so you can grow big and strong like daddy," Kim cooed to the little Kneazle, who mewed pitifully again.

He was quite poor looking, as he was slightly bow-legged and had tufts of fur sticking up in odd places as though he had been through the mill. The corner of one of his ears was torn off and his tail seemed to be too long for him and his head slightly too big.

"I thought you were supposed to be a Death Eater," Draco said, sitting on her bed. "You're not supposed to be nice to it."

"Not it… him… and I'm allowed to be maternal, aren't I?" she snapped waspishly.

"My mother is about as maternal as an angry shrew," she muttered under his breath.

"And look how you turned out," she retorted.

Draco muttered to himself under his breath a bit, but otherwise ignored her. He paused for a moment before saying, "What are you going to name that thing anyway?"

Kim looked thoughtful for a moment before her face broke out into a grin. "Killer," she replied.

"Killer?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't it a wonderful name?" she replied with a smile, stroking Killer's fuzzy head.

Draco was about to reply in a contrary manner, when Kim's dad appeared in the doorway and turned red, "Am I disturbing anything?"

"No, why?" Kim wondered, tickling Killer's little belly.

"Because I was looking for Nagini's dinner," he replied, watching the little Kneazle, "but I see you've found it already."

"What?" Kim replied incredulously.

"That Kneazle," he said, fidgeting where he stood, "is Nagini's dinner."

"This Kneazle," Kim retorted, "is our baby boy. Go find a rat or something. Maybe you can feed yourself to precious Nagini."

Wormtail muttered his hurried apology and left as Draco turned a shade of red that reminded Kim strongly of Ginny's hair color.

"I told you, I'm not claiming that thing!" he hissed.

"Oh, hush. Now get to bed," Kim snapped, hopping under her covers and placing the little Killer on her pillow next to her.

"I don't have to sleep with you, do I?"

"No…" she trailed off, giving him an odd look. It was true she'd rather be with him than Karl, but she had no desire to marry Draco, either.

Draco grinned, "Well, do you want me to forgive you?"

Kim sighed; she knew where this was going… "Yes, but you're forgetting that I'm not a whore, Draco: I'm not Nassandra," she reasoned, referring to the Death Eaters' resident whore.

"I never said where you had to put it," Draco teased, undoing his belt buckle, as his pants dropped to the floor.

Kim stared at him in all his Malfoy glory… then she grinned: "Awwww, Draco, that's so cute!" she exclaimed.

He turned brick red; "I _really_ hate you…" he hissed, giving her a look, pulling his trousers back on and leaving very quickly, closing the door behind him and throwing the room into blackness.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Kim wound her way back onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters with Draco, who was rather angry that she'd been held in higher regard than he in the Death Eater scale, for making him the father of her Kneazle, and for damaging his pride. He refused to speak to her, and in desperation, Kim pleaded with her father to give her an owl, lest he refuse her usage of his owl, as well.

Now, as Kim pushed the trolley containing her trunk and a cage with a lovely tawny owl perched inside, she realized that she would be able to send her own mail, although in code, as her father had warned her.

Killer was also looking much healthier and was peeking out of her pocket, with his large, tufted ears twitching at loud noises.

Wormtail had been very proud of his daughter when she had achieved a higher Death Eater rank than even he held. He was also very intimidated.

This had not kept Karl at bay, however. Kim had almost given in and given herself up to him on the last day of her visit, before deciding that a well thought out hex would be better. It was a narrow escape, however, resulting in her throwing an "_Impedimenta_" at him while dressed in nothing but her unzipped skirt and feeling very violated.

__

I will have to face Ginny, Kim realized with a pang. What would Ginny think of her? Kim wondered if Ginny had told anyone who had given her the information to clear out of the Weasley house for Christmas…

"Hey, Barkley!" a voice interrupted her thoughts. It took her a moment to realize that the voice was talking to her, "Hey, Barkley!"

"What?" she hissed. Her venomous temper had not gone away yet. It was James, who she found she'd forgotten all about over the holidays.

"Calm down," he requested, putting his hands up defensively. "I come in peace."

Kim was slightly taken aback by this comment. If she remembered correctly, the last time she'd seen James, their conversation ended with her punching him in the stomach and kicking him in both shins.

"What do you want?" Kim asked, although not in an unkindly way, just in case he'd decided to apologize.

"I have a message for you, my lady," he said with a mock bow. Kim rolled her eyes. "The Firey One wishes to speak with you. She's waiting in the compartment she saved for you."

"Firey One?" Kim repeated, knowing James was talking about Ginny. "And what am I?"

"Really hot. Go out with me, Barkley," James replied with a broad grin. "Please?" he added as an afterthought.

"You know, James," she said in a low voice. "I've spent all Christmas being stalked by a creep who's two years older than me. He _still_ won't leave me alone, and keeps trying to force himself on me. Do you really think I'm up for you to hang around me all year with that hanging over my head?"

"Go out with me, Barkley, and I'll keep him at bay," James replied, throwing a mock-heroic pose.

Kim laughed: the thought of arrogant, trouble-making James trying to fight broad-shouldered, rough, angry Karl, who also happened to be a Death Eater, was funny. She could already picture the outcome…

"What about me going out with Terry?" she asked, hoping he'd go away if she feigned a relationship.

"I know you're not going out. You ended on a break on October fifteenth… the Loony One told me."

"Who, Luna? Don't call her Loony! Just because she's different... UGH! James, you disgust me!" she said angrily and stomped off to the front of the train, levitating her trunk and owl to the train. Killer mewed at James offensively.

"Barkley! BARKLEY! Hey! I'm sorry! _Barkley_!" James called after her, but she didn't turn around.

She flung open a compartment door and tossed her stuff inside. Eric and Ethan were already occupying it.

"Mind if I join you guys?" she inquired. Both shook their heads, so she flung her trunk on the rack and placed her new owl on top of it, who hooted indignantly.

"What's got you so mad?" Eric wondered, a sandwich in one hand with several bites taken out of it.

"Stupid boy in my year," she mumbled. "Did you have a good Christmas?"

"Nah. We're Jewish," Ethan replied, his mouth half-full.

"Really?" she asked, feigning interest to get her mind off James, Karl, Ginny, and everyone else that was bothering her. "Did you have a good, er... what do you celebrate?"

"Hanukah," Eric put in. "Yeah, it was great. Ethan tried to charm Dad's teacup so it would bite his nose..."

Ethan finished, "Well it ended up biting his nose… but it seemed to have something poisonous in its fangs, though, so we had to rush him to the hospital."

"Interesting," Kim replied, noting this so she could possibly use it on Karl someday.

"Anything dangerous happen on your vacation?" Ethan asked, hopefully.

"No, sorry," Kim lied. "All I did was work a lot."

"Oh…" Eric replied simply, tapping his wand to his shoe and accidentally making it grow twice its length before shrinking back again.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments as the train pulled out of the station. Eric opened his mouth as if to say something, when the compartment door slid open.

"Kim, Ginny's looking for you in the last compartment." It was Hermione, standing framed in the doorway.

"I don't want to talk to Ginny," Kim replied.

"Oh, come on, Kim," she practically pleaded, "you saved all of our lives: Fred, George, Bill, Ron, Ginny, Harry, and me... not to mention Ron's parents! She really wants to thank you."

"Well tell her I said 'you're welcome', then," Kim replied, grabbing a book titled _Black Magic for the Advanced _from her trunk.

"Oh, just come for 5 minutes, or I'll make James and Orlando escort you," Hermione snapped.

This seemed to hit a nerve. "Fine! I'm coming! I'm coming!" Kim screeched and snapped the book shut and put it under her arm before walking to the door, rubbing her throbbing temples.

Hermione led her outside and headed toward the back of the train. They were completely silent.

"So, how was your Christmas with Malfoy?" Hermione asked, trying to break the silence.

"Terrible," Kim replied simply, fondling Killer's ears.

"Oh, it can't have been _that_ bad..."

"Well if your idea of fun is being isolated from the real world, trapped in a huge, gloomy mansion with several adults that can't wait to hex each other, and hoping you won't be raped by your future husband on the way to the loo, then yes… my Christmas was rather enjoyable."

"Was it really that bad?" she asked, looking slightly horrified.

"Yes."

"Sorry…"

"It's all right…"

"So… what are you reading?"

Kim held up her copy of _Black Magic for the Advanced _to show Hermione.

"That sounds... different..."

"Oh, it's very lovely," Kim replied sarcastically, "here's one page that might interest you..."

She began flipping through the book and it fell open on a page with a detailed picture of something called the Inside-Out Curse. The picture showed a woman being turned inside out so that you could see her insides.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Hermione said quietly, quickly looking away.

"And the worst part is... I've got to learn it."

"You don't _have_ to learn it if you don't want to," Hermione protested, reaching for the compartment door.

"I'm sure you know exactly why I have to learn it, Hermione, so please don't pretend you haven't caught on to me," Kim replied as she slid open the door.

Everyone looked up at them. Hermione sat down next to Ron and buried herself in a book titled _Basic Dueling Skills_. Kim scanned everyone in the compartment: Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Sit down why don't you?" Ron said through gritted teeth.

"Why should I if you don't even want me here?" Kim replied rudely.

"Watch your temper. I can give you detention - I'm a Prefect, you know," Ron replied angrily.

"And I've just spent a Christmas with Draco," she retorted, crossing her arms and leaning against the side of the wall. "I don't think _you_ could have spent _your_ holiday watching your father act like a sniveling coward, and trying to avoid two different guys, one of which wants to hex me to death, and the other who wants to rape me." Killer gave a feeble growl at Ron, which was less intimidating than his mewing. Ron looked at the little Kneazle for a moment.

"Listen, I'm sorry you had an unsatisfactory Christmas," Harry butted in, angrily, "but keep it in for now, or I'll take you off of the Quidditch Team."

"Fine," Kim replied and sank into the empty seat next to Ron, who Killer was still trying to growl at, dropping her book on the seat.

"What's this?" Ron asked, ignoring Killer for the moment and picking up the book. "_Black Magic for the Advanced_? What are you reading?"

"Open a page and find out," Kim replied, civilly.

Ron looked at her suspiciously and opened the book to a random page. "Ugh, that's bloody disgusting," he complained, closing the book with a snap and putting it back down.

"What did you see?" Kim asked, pleasantly.

"How can you read that thing? I saw a picture of a person shriveled up and gross-looking…"

"As, yes, one of my favorite curses - the Draining Curse. It drains all of the blood from your body. I've used it only once, but it was slightly difficult and it seemed to have a bad effect-"

"I didn't want to talk about it," Ron muttered.

"Oh, all right. I'll be going then," she replied.

Ginny muttered "_Colloportus_" under her breath and pointed her wand at the door, locking it.

"_Alohamora_," Kim exclaimed, and exited the compartment, grabbing her book with her. "See you later, Ginny."

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Kim, you can't avoid me forever," Ginny called, catching up to her in the hallway.

"Watch me," she replied, coldly.

"Why do you refuse to talk to me?"

"It's for your own good and for mine," she replied stiffly.

"Well if it's only for our good, why did you stop talking to Anna and Lauren, too? The only person you're talking to is Luna! Why are you acting like this?"

"Go to class, Ginny."

"I'M IN YOUR CLASS!"

"Well then walk ahead of me," she snapped irritably.

"I won't talk to you about your warning if you'll just speak to me again!"

"Why does it matter? I'm a Slytherin in your eyes! Why should I be friends with someone like that?" Kim demanded.

It was true the only person that she was on speaking terms with was Luna, who didn't seem to really say much that was of importance, anyway. Kim opened the door and sat in the back. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts class… not her forte.

Ginny took her seat next to Kim, although there was plenty of extra places.

"Go away," Kim hissed.

"No."

"Fine, you stubborn mule, sit there! See if I care," she said, bitterly, pulling out the book she'd been reading on the train. Luna walked in dreamily and put her things down next to Kim.

"Hello, Kimberly," she said in her far-away voice.

"How'd the catching of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack go?" Kim inquired. For Christmas, Luna had gone on vacation with her father to Sweden so she could catch one of the mythical creatures.

"I think we saw one, but we weren't able to catch it," she replied happily.

"I hope you catch one someday, then," Kim replied and turned the page in her book.

"Miss Barkley, please put the book away," Professor Croft said, walking into the room.

Kim put the book away, huffily and rested her head in her arms on her desk.

"Mr. Gardner, what have I told you about doing homework in my class... what's this?" Professor Croft said, picking up the paper.

"It's nothing, Professor," Orlando replied quickly and fearfully.

"What in the dickens _is_ this?"

"It's something I found on the floor, sir."

"Hmm… there's a student selling firewhiskey on the Black Market? And… hello, what's this? Someone's been buying Class C Non-Tradable items. Hmm, very interesting..."

While the Professor was reading out what was on the Black Market paper, Kim grabbed her book and began reading it again.

"Miss Barkley, I thought I told you to- GOOD LORD, GIRL! What are you reading?"

Kim tried to hastily shove the book back into her bag, but Croft took it and flipped through it.

"These are Dark curses. Why are you reading this book?" he asked her, peering at her through his glasses.

"It was a Christmas present," she murmured shakily.

__

Don't turn the page, don't turn the page, don't turn the page! She silently pleaded, when she saw that he'd reached the spot where her bookmark was. _Don't turn the page!_

Croft turned the page. Inside the open book were clear instructions on how to perform the Cruciatus Curse and its effects.

Croft looked at her gravely. "Miss Barkley, I will have to take fifty points from Gryffindor for this. I'm afraid you're also going to have to go to Professor Dumbledore. It will be his decision whether you will be expelled."

__

Expelled?

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0


	8. Veritaserum

Thank-you for your reviews Zayne, Saturn's Candlesticks and inu-miku-angel.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Once again, Kim found herself in Dumbledore's office. However, this time she had someone in there with her…

"So. Why are you here?" Harry wondered, although judging by his voice he clearly wished she wasn't there at all.

"None of your business, Potter," Kim spat, feeling angry with herself. Why shouldn't' she take out her anger on Harry? "Would you tell me why you're in here?"

"It depends… why don't you tell me first?"

"I'm not here to play games, Potter. Croft sent me here to get expelled."

"Why?" She'd captured his attention for the moment.

"For reading up on the Cruciatus Curse, okay?"

He stared at her. "Why do you need to know the Cruciatus Curse?"

"I don't need to learn it, Potter, I already know it," she snapped.

He stared at her again.

"You know, it's very rude to stare," she said, irritably. What did it matter if he kicked her off the Quidditch team for being rude toward him? She highly doubted they wouldn't let her play Quidditch for Gryffindor if she were expelled…

He tore his gaze away from her and looked instead at the phoenix that was perched nearby.

"Ah, Mr. Potter... and Miss Barkley." Dumbledore's voice wafted into the room.

Harry and Kim both turned to see Dumbledore letting himself into the office. The phoenix flew over and perched on his shoulder.

"Hello, Fawkes," Dumbledore said, cheerfully. He strode over to his seat behind his desk and sat as Fawkes the phoenix flew back to his perch. "Now what can I do for you two?"

Both Harry and Kim were silent for a moment.

"Professor Croft says that you need to expel me, Professor," Kim spoke up, finally.

One of the portraits snorted on the wall, "She's outgoing, I'll give her that! Expel her if that's what she wants!"

"That will be enough, Phineas," Dumbledore told the portrait calmly, lacing his fingers together and examining them momentarily. He then turned to Kim, "Why does Professor Croft wish your expellation?"

"Because I was reading about the Cruciatus Curse." She just didn't care what happened to her anymore. She hated Voldemort at that moment with a burning passion; it wasn't fair that she should have to sacrifice everything she had for his benefit.

Dumbledore seemed to inspect her for a moment before saying anything. "Why were you reading about the Cruciatus Curse, Miss Barkley?"

"Because I need to know how to use it, Professor," she admitted without hesitation. She didn't care… she was too busy imagining Voldemort getting his head blown off…

"There are no circumstances in which the Cruciatus Curse needs to be used during your lifetime, Miss Barkley," Dumbledore said, seriously. "Why would you need to know how to use it?"

"I cannot tell you, Professor," she answered. She was now imagining using the _Avada Kedavra_ on Voldemort. She could almost hear his high-pitched screams…

Dumbledore inspected her again. "Mr. Potter, why are you here?"

Kim raised her eyebrows, but said nothing. She was too busy relishing the imaginary screams…

"I actually wanted to talk to you about connections to Voldemort within the castle, Professor," he stated, sneaking a sideways glance at Kim.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Malfoy is already a known Death Eater," Dumbledore replied in a serious tone. "And Miss Weasley has already seen me about other possible connections." He, too, looked over at Kim.

"So? Are you going to expel me?" Kim demanded rudely. She didn't care about being disrespectful: she was imagining Nagini sinking her fangs into Voldemort's flesh and watching his writhe with pain and the poison slowly did its job and his lips turned purple, his ghastly white face taking on a pale green-ish tint. He struggled to breathe. But suddenly Voldemort turned into Kim's mother and the snake turned toward Kim…

"Would you like a cup of tea, Miss Barkley?" Dumbledore inquired, shaking Kim from the nightmare that she was constantly haunted by.

"What?"

"Would you like some tea?" he repeated.

"Er, sure, why not?" She was still shaken by the image: some nice, warm tea would be good for her.

He made a cup of tea appear out of thin air with his wand and it floated over to her. She took it gratefully and took a long draught from the soothing liquid. It seemed okay, but she put it down as a sudden thought occurred to her: Veritaserum, the Truth Potion! Suddenly a feeling of calm washed over her and she began to hear Dumbledore ask her questions.

"What is your name?"

"Kimberly Anne Pettigrew."

She could hear Harry give a tiny gasp, but she didn't care. All feeling was gone from her besides eternal bliss.

"Why are you at Hogwarts?"

"My master sent me to spy on Harry Potter."

"And your master is Voldemort?"

"Yes."

"Where did you go during the Christmas Break?"

"To the Malfoy Manor."

"What did you do while you were there?"

"I was sent to take my test to become a Death Eater. I succeeded."

"Did you want to become a Death Eater?" he asked sharply. If Kim had been in her right state of mind, she would have noticed that Dumbledore's eyes had lost their sparkle and now took on a hardened, stony look.

Kim began to ponder his question. Had she wanted to become a Death Eater? Really?

"No. It was my father's dream, however, so I did it."

"What did you need to do to become a servant of Voldemort?"

"I was sent to kill the Weasleys with Draco Malfoy."

Dumbledore frowned. "But the Weasleys are not dead. Why didn't you kill them?"

"I warned Ginny Weasley ahead of time and told her not to stay at home for Christmas Break. So when we got there, they weren't home."

"Why?" Harry spoke up. "You could easily have killed them all. Why didn't you just do it?"

"Ginny Weasley is my best friend," Kim replied simply. "I didn't see why I should waste her and her family's life to pass a test."

"So what did you do when the others found that the Weasleys weren't present?" Dumbledore inquired.

"They made us attack some Muggles."

"Did you kill any of them?" Dumbledore's eyes were blazing and like ice.

"Yes. I killed a man and his son using the Imperius Curse to throw themselves out of a window."

"Is there anything else?"

"No, Draco killed the other family members."

"I see. So the only reason you did this was because of your father?"

Kim nodded.

"Do you like Voldemort? Do you agree with his ideas?"

Kim thought about this, too. It was a very difficult question. Did she? Really deep down…

"No. I didn't see why we had to kill the Weasleys: they seem nice enough to me."

Dumbledore paused as though looking at her curiously.

"Is there anything else you'd like to ask her, Harry?"

Harry nodded: "Were you proud of yourself for getting the Dark Mark burned into your skin?"

"No. I think it's repulsive and whenever I look at it I feel sick."

"Do you hate Voldemort?"

That was an easily question: "I _detest_ him."

"Why?" Dumbledore questioned.

"He killed my mother."

"Your mother was murdered by Lord Voldemort?" Dumbledore asked swiftly.

"Yes. My master's snake, Nagini, attacked her and bit her to death."

"Do you miss your mother?"

"Very much."

"When did this take place and why?"

"I was about 7 years old and my mother refused to hand me over to my master. So he killed her."

Dumbledore looked a bit sorry for her, but Kim didn't notice.

"Do you know how to Apparate?"

"Yes."

"Can you become an Animagus?"

"No. My father is teaching me, but I have not yet chosen a form."

"If you were given a second chance to do things over, would you have joined Voldemort's side?" Dumbledore demanded, leaning forward ever so slightly.

Kim thought about this. She knew the answer: "No."

"No? Why not?"

"I hate my master, but I can't tell him this. I've hated him since he killed my mother and made me live with my father."

"Do you think your father is a good man?"

"He is just a coward… nothing more."

"Did you know of his betrayal of Lily and James?"

Harry shot Dumbledore a look, but the Headmaster ignored him.

"Lily and James?" Kim repeated with a frown. "He has never mentioned those names to me. The Sorting Hat told me that my father was a betrayer. He never told me anything supporting this evidence."

Dumbledore frowned, but said nothing. "If you were given the chance, would you work against Voldemort?"

"Yes," Kim replied, breathlessly thinking of the torture she kept putting an imaginary Voldemort through. The Veritaserum was beginning to wear off now.

"Do you have any questions, Harry?"

Harry nodded, "Was the only reason that you were friendly to me because you were under Voldemort's orders?"

Kim opened her mouth to reply, when the effects of the potion wore off completely and her head slumped onto her shoulders and she slipped off the seat and into unconsciousness as her head hit something hard and sharp.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0


	9. Aftereffects of Veritaserum

Everything around her was blurry and indistinct. Kim remembered hitting her head on something hard... and sharp, after she'd been sent to Dumbledore's office. She couldn't remember anything. In fact, she couldn't even move because the slightest movement made her head throb. In fact, even when she lay perfectly _still_, her head was throbbing.

It was then that she realized that someone was at the foot of her bed.

"...and I know that you're still not feeling good," a dreamy voice was saying, "but once you feel better, I have some good news to tell you: Daddy says that he's got a picture of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack-"

_Luna_, Kim realized. She sat up and groaned from the effort and touched her head where she felt a bloody gash there.

"Oww," she howled.

"Hey, Ginny," Ron's voice echoed in her mind, "she woke up."

Kim saw two Lunas standing in front of her as two red-headed Ginnys rushed over to her. It was then that she realized that she was cross-eyed and blinked several times before it started to go away.

"Kim, you're awake! Harry told us everything that you said!"

"Wha-? What happened?" she said with a slurred voice.

"You were under the Veritaserum and then you hit your head on this weird, sharp metal thingy," Ginny explained hurriedly.

"I did? Oww. My head hurts. Hey, Luna, there's a Crumple-Horned Snorkack behind you... go catch it..."

"That's not a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, Kim," Ginny said, suppressing a giggle, "that's Harry."

"Wha-? Why is he here? Why are you here? I don't want to talk to you! Oww!" Kim clutched her head, which made it hurt worse, so she lay back down.

"Calm down, or you'll never recover in time for the Quidditch game in two days," Ron said.

"Is that all you care about, Ron?" Hermione scoffed.

"No," Ron said indignantly.

"Out! Out! This girl needs rest, not visitors! OUT!" Madame Pomfrey shouted, waving her arms like a crazy person. "Out!"

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey!" Kim called after the nurse as Ginny, Luna, Ron, and Harry were ushered out.

"YOU-" she rounded on Kim, "-you need rest!"

Kim grumbled at this, but lay back down on the white linen sheets, hoping to get back to bed.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The next morning, Kim awoke in the Hospital Wing without a trace of the bloody gash. She sat there and waited for Madame Pomfrey to notice she was awake for almost fifteen minutes. When she finally did notice, she bustled over and force-fed some nasty tasting stuff to her.

"You can go whenever you're ready," the nurse said, disdainfully.

Kim hopped off of the bed and stretched. She changed into her Hogwarts uniform that she'd been given and walked out into the halls, realizing that it was time for lunch.

She walked down the halls and into the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindor table. She saw Draco look at her with intense anger. She had to admit, however, that she deserved that look from him: with her ranking above him AND her comment about his... well... she deserved the angry look, to say the least.

She ignored him and sat into the empty seat in between Ginny and Orlando.

"Hey, Barkley! Feeling better?" James said, cheerfully from across the table.

"Can it, Livingston," she replied in a monotone.

James looked at her with a sneer, "Well maybe your pal, Malfoy, can get you to be cheerful..."

"Oh, no, not Malfoy," Ron groaned.

"Just ignore him," Harry said, waving it away.

"Well, then, look who's back from the Hospital Wing," Draco sneered as he, Crabbe, and Goyle approached the table.

"Shut your trap, Malfoy," she said, "I'm not in the mood to speak Troll."

"Watch who you're calling a troll," Malfoy said angrily as Crabbe and Goyle crackled their knuckles.

Kim stood up, beginning to get angry with him, "Oh, you're jealous, is that it?"

"Jealous?" he sneered, "jealous of what? _I_ wouldn't want to be sitting here with the Weasleys. They're like a bunch of rabbits!"

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered stupidly.

"Well you know what I think of YOU, Malfoy?" Kim exclaimed. The whole hall was silent now and seemed to be watching what would happen. Even the teachers seemed to be anticipating what she would say next, "I think you're a dirty, bullying, slimy-looking MONGOOSE!"

The entire hall was still silent as Malfoy replied: "Mongoose? Is that all you can think of? Why would I care about being a stupid snake-eating weasel?"

"Snake-eating? Yes, of course! Oh, Draco, I love you!" she cried, running up to him and kissing right on the lips before running out of the Great Hall, amid many stares from her fellow students.

"Well somebody's having mood swings today," James muttered under his breath.

"Yeah, don't you wish it was you, Jamsie?" Orlando teased.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Mongoose!" Kim cried, "I want to be a mongoose!"

"Are you sure, Kim?" Wormtail asked, curiously.

"Yes. I'm positive," she replied firmly.

She had rushed off of Hogwarts grounds and Apparated from Hogsmeade to her father's side.

"Well next time you have a trip to Hogsmeade, then come back, and we can finish-"

"No. I want you to teach me now," she said, stubbornly.

"But, you'll be expelled-"

"No, I won't. I don't care! Give me directions and I'll do it myself if that's all you can do."

"Fine. Listen up," he snapped in a voice that she'd never heard him use before. "You need to concentrate very hard on this... mongoose... then you need to concentrate all of your magic through you: hold your wand the first time and say: '_Animagai_'. With all the training you've done already, you should be able to change into this your animal at will. It might be difficult the first few times, but it will work for you. Tell no one."

"Thanks, I'll be going now," Kim said and Apparated away before he could inquire about her spying job.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Kim? Are you okay? What are you doing in there?" Ginny asked though the door of the Dormitory.

"I want to be alone," she replied.

"All right," Ginny said, "I'll be back up in a few minutes."

"Concentrate," Kim whispered to herself. "Mongoose..."

With a small 'pop' Kim suddenly felt much smaller. She was standing on her hind legs with her arms feeling rather small and close to her body. A long snout was pointed out in front of her with a little black nose on the end. She looked down at her body and saw that she was covered in lots of tan-colored fur. Her paws had sharp, little claws on the end that were resting next to her long tail. She pattered over to Anna's full-length mirror and saw a weasel-like creature standing before her. She noticed a long black stripe that ran from her forehead to her nose on her face. There were several thin black stripes on her hind legs and on her back.

"Cool," she said aloud, taking in her new appearance, but her voice was now a screechy-like noise.

"Kim?" Ginny was back. "What are you doing in there?"

"Nothing," Kim replied, but the same screechy noise came out of her mouth.

"I'm coming in!" Ginny said, turning the knob.

Kim screeched and ran swiftly under Lauren's bed.

"Kim? Kim, where are you?" Ginny called.

_Oh my, I wonder how you turn back!_ The thought suddenly struck Kim like a load of bricks. _There's only one person I can really go to..._

"Kim!"

"I'm going!" she cried in that indistinguishable squeak and rushed from under the bed.

"What the-?" Ginny cried as Kim rushed between her legs. She scurried downstairs and through the Common Room, causing pandemonium.

"EEK! IT'S A GIANT MOUSE!" shrieked Anna before jumping into James' arms and clinging onto his neck after which he promptly dropped her and she jumped into Orlando's arms instead.

"Oh my gosh, it's going to eat me!" Evan Youngblood yelled before doing a quick square-dance around the room.

Ethan and Eric looked at her excitedly. "Our dream has come true!" Eric cried, "Ethan, go get the nets!"

Kim jumped onto Michael's head and leapt off of it, which he ignored as though random mongeese frequently jumped on his head. She scurried through people's legs before she was cornered by Hermione's evil-tempered orange fluffball for a cat, Crookshanks.

"I told you that cat's a menace!" Ron yelled, as though trying to defend Kim. "It's going to eat that... thing!"

"That 'thing' is a mongoose!" Hermione exclaimed and pulled Crookshanks away for fear of injury to her precious orange fluffball.

Colin Creevy tried to snap a picture of Kim running through the Common Room, but decided it wasn't such a good idea when she bit his leg and drew blood.

"Come on, Ethan, catch it!" Eric cried as he and his brother rushed after her with large butterfly nets in their hands.

"What's going on in here?" the Head Girl, Amelia Winters, yelled, opening the Portrait Hole. Kim seized this opportunity to get out of the Common Room and rushed out between the girl's legs.

"EEK! KILL IT! IT WANTS TO ATTACK ME!" Amelia cried and jumped onto a chair in a very un-dignified way.

"We'll get it!" Ethan cried and he and Eric rushed out of the Common Room with their nets and began trying to catch Kim. She rushed swiftly through the hallways toward where she supposed the Slytherin Common Room must be, wishing she could go to someone other than Draco for help.

While Ethan and Eric chased after her, she spotted Goyle coming out of the Great Hall. Thinking quickly, and hoping to use Goyle's dumb-ness to her advantage, she crawled onto his robes and began squeaking madly.

Goyle turned around just in time for Eric to see Kim's trick and run away, Ethan following close behind. Goyle scratched his head dumbly and wandered around the hallway to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Goyle!" Kim squeaked, knowing it was useless.

"Wha...?" Goyle said, stupidly.

"It's me, the mongoose!" Kim said, hoping he'd understand somehow.

"Mongoose," he said, thickly.

"Can you understand me?" Kim squeaked.

"Hi, Mongoose!" he roared.

"Bring me to Malfoy," she said, slowly.

"Mal-floy?" he said, scratching his dumb head, "Why you want to see Mal-floy?"

"Because I'm a mongoose!"

"What's a mongoose?"

"I'M a mongoose!"

"Are you my conscience?" Goyle asked thickly.

Kim sighed, "Yes, Goyle, yes, I am. Now please bring me to Malfoy."

"Okay, I'll bring you to Mal-floy."

"Good boy," she said, scurrying onto his head where she was perched like a bird, wondering how Goyle understood her in the first place.

They neared the Slytherin Common Room where Goyle found Crabbe: "Goyle, there is a mongoose on your head!"

"I found it - it's my conscience."

"No, that doesn't quite seem right," Crabbe said in a much less stupid voice than he looked, "because mongeese are native to Asia."

"What's Asia?"

"Oh, never mind, your mind couldn't comprehend it."

"Crabbe, Goyle!" Draco said, coming into view as they entered the Common Room. He looked at Goyle for a moment: "Goyle, there's something on your head and it bothers me: get it off."

"It's my conscience," Goyle said acting stupider by the moment.

"It's Kim!" Kim squeaked. "Goyle, tell him my name is Kim!"

"My conscience's name is Ken."

"NO! _KIM_!" she squeaked.

"Oh, she changed her name... now she's Kim," Goyle added.

"_Kim_?" Draco asked, looking with a smirk at the mongoose, "Oh, this is priceless! Kim! You're a mongoose!"

"Maybe if it is an Animagus, you should give her a quill and a piece of parchment," said Crabbe smartly.

"I get it, Mal-floy," Goyle said, stomping over to a first year and stealing their quill and parchment.

Kim grabbed the parchment in her paws and hopped off of Goyle's greasy head, with the quill in her mouth. She jumped onto a desk and began writing: _I've turned into my Animagus form, but I can't get out! HELP!_

Draco picked up the paper with a smirk and read it. "What do you want ME to do about it?"

_Help me get my dad!_

"How am I supposed to do that?" he asked, "and why did you turn into a mongoose of all things?"

_YOU gave me the idea. Also, I don't know, get him somehow! It's a Friday, so you can spend the weekend finding out!_

"There's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend," Crabbe pointed out.

_APPARATE THERE AND GET HIM! _Kim wrote out, finding it odd that the other Slytherins didn't care in the least bit that a mongoose was writing on a piece of parchment with a quill in the middle of the Common Room.

"Well you're going to have to stay in my Dorm for tonight, you can kip under my bed," Draco said, gathering her in his arms, when she promptly bit his hand and scurried ahead of him and into his dormitory.

"You're going to pay for this one, Malfoy," Kim squeaked.

"What did she say, Goyle?"

"Mmmm, turkey," Goyle said with a belch.

"Yes, we know you had turkey for dinner, Goyle, what did she say?" Crabbe replied to his insolent comment.

Kim refused to hear anymore and instead crawled under Draco's bed and was disturbed to see a pair of girl's knickers. She dragged it out and looked at Malfoy questioningly.

"Ah, those are Pansy's!" Draco said, stuffing them back under the bed, "so that's where they went! Now get back under there, I'm going to change!"

With a squeak of fright, she disappeared underneath the bed with Pansy's knickers, making sure that they were far away from where she was sleeping and trying to ignore the snores of Theodore Nott, another Death Eater, and a boy named Blaise Zabini.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The very next morning, Kim found herself in a very tight place. She mulled over the previous night's events and realized that somehow, she'd turned human again.

"I'M A HUMAN!" she yelled so loudly that she felt the bed above her jump in surprise.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, WAKING ME UP AT...Oh… it's 10 AM…" Malfoy jumped out of bed.

"I'm human!" Kim yelled. "And I'm stuck! Get me out!"

"Turn into a mongoose and get out yourself!" Draco replied.

"No! You just want me to be stuck as a mongoose again!"

"Duh! I wanted to send you to your father by owl!" Draco replied.

"You disgust me, now GET ME OUT!"

"Crabbe. Goyle. Wake up! Lift up my bed! NO, NOT WHILE I'M IN IT, GOYLE!"

Soon, with Crabbe and Goyle's strength, the bed was in the air, after which Goyle dropped the bed on Malfoy's toe.

"OUCH, YOU DOLT!"

Kim just snickered to herself and crawled out from the bed. Once the bed was off Malfoy's toe, he and Kim walked downstairs, where they were met by Pansy.

"Draco! How could you? I KNEW IT! You're cheating on me for HER!" she cried and slapped Draco twice across the face.

"Pansy, I found your knickers," Draco replied.

"Oh, really? I've been looking for those. Where are they?"

"Under my bed, right where you left them," he answered, pulling her close to him. She seemed to have forgotten about her accusation that Draco had cheated on her. She was giggling madly as Draco raked his fingers across her back and grabbed her rump.

Kim was disgusted by this public display of affection. No one paid a second glance to her as she snorted in disgust and stalked off into the Great Hall, looking disheveled.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Gee, Kim, you look awful," James said that morning over breakfast.

"Well you would too, Mr. Oh-so-sensitive," she replied.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I spent the night underneath Malfoy's bed," she replied, pouring herself some orange juice.

"AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING UNDER THERE?" he roared angrily.

"Why should you care?" she said in reply, leaving the table with a piece of toast.

"HEY! KIM! Can I use the rest of your orange juice?" Orlando yelled after her.

Kim waved her hand at him to say 'yes' and walked out of the Great Hall and traveled back to her Dormitory where she hoped she could change into something that made her look slightly less disheveled.

"I've got my eggs, I've got my orange juice, but I need my hot sauce," Orlando said enthusiastically.

As Kim wound her way around the halls, she heard someone footsteps approaching behind her.

"Kim!" It was Ginny.

"Yes?"

"So now you're talking to me?" Ginny asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I guess," she replied, kicking the thin air with her hands in her pockets.

"Good. You'll never guess what happened last night-" Ginny said breathlessly and went into detail about the crazed mongoose of Gryffindor Tower.

Kim just smiled.


	10. A Change of Heart

The Locker Rooms for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team was silent, save Harry's voice: "It's our first match and we're against Ravenclaw. I know we can pull this off, as long as we're working together. Even though almost everyone here is new, we should be able to do this the right way. Our Chasers work well together," he glanced at Ginny, Orlando, and Evan, "we've got a good Keeper," he looked at Ron, whose ears went red, "and our Beaters like to hit things." He looked over at Kim and James, who were glaring at each other, "But our Beaters just need to stop tearing at each other's throats for awhile."

"Honestly, I try to, but no matter what I do, she won't say a nice word to me," James replied.

"Well maybe if you didn't go around tripping me and insulting me and being fresh, then I'd be nicer to you," she replied, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Don't stick out your tongue at me, unless you plan to use it," James spat back at her.

"Stop fighting!" Harry yelled at the two of them. They glared at each other and looked up at their Captain. "If you two can't be in sync, then we're not going to win anything! We won't even loose with dignity. I want you both to shake hands and get over your fighting at least for the time being."

"Fine," Kim replied, and took his hand and shook it roughly. "There."

"Good, now let's go."

They traveled out onto the Quidditch Pitch where the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team was waiting for them in robes of shocking yellow. The sun was out, in perfect conditions for a Quidditch match.

"And the Gryffindor Team finally comes out. Almost the entire team is new this year with all new Chasers and Beaters and Harry Potter as the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain." The boy that had almost thought that you needed to eat the hat from the Sorting Ceremony, Harold Azaka, was commenting. "There's the handshake between Potter and Chang, neither looks very happy, and the Quaffle is released... and taken into possession by Orlando Gardner of Gryffindor, passed to Weasley, back to Gardner, to Youngblood, he shoots - HE SCORES! 10 - 0 Gryffindor!"

The match went on and Kim found that she couldn't work with James, no matter how hard she tried. Neither of them could read each other's body language and both kept accidentally almost unseating the other.

Needless to say, it was almost expected when Kim got hit in the back with the Bludger that James accidentally swung her way, after she'd hit the other one at the Seeker for the Ravenclaw Team, Cho Chang.

The Bludger unseated her and she fell twenty feet to the ground with a sickening crack and got knocked in the head.

Harry had just captured the Snitch in his outstretched hand when this happened. The game had been won by 230 points, due to Gryffindor's capture of the Snitch. After he'd realized that his Beater had been hit by a Bludger that she couldn't see, he called his team down and they crowded around her.

"Hey, we won!" she said brightly, sitting on the ground next to her broom, which had floated down next to her like a loyal dog. Both of her legs were bent out of shape and broken, and she had had the wind knocked out of her, but otherwise, she seemed fine for someone who had just fallen twenty feet from a broomstick.

Nonetheless, a stretcher was conjured and she was brought to the Hospital Wing for her bones to be mended.

The school nurse completed this task in about five minutes, while the team celebrated. After she'd been healed, they all went into the Great Hall for their Dinner.

During the celebrating and eating, Draco slipped over to Kim and gave her a piece of parchment that read: _to change back from your Animagus form, you must concentrate on your original form and circulate your magic through your body. This will become easier in time, so that you can do it by simply concentrating on your animal and then on yourself and changing easily from one to the other._

Kim crept under the table after pretending that she'd dropped her fork and changed into the mongoose and back again. When she rose, she was glowing. Her training was done, and now all she needed to do was to get her curses and hexes down correctly.

She decided that life was good, and when James apologized for sending the Bludger her way, she simply smiled at him, not unkindly, and said nothing.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The year was going along smoothly and before she knew it, Kim found her life going right again. She'd made up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, as well as Natalie, Anna, Lauren, Ethan, and Eric. She was becoming good friends with Michael, who she learned had a strange fetish for Blood-Flavored Lollipops, and also had gone to see Dumbledore about something that was much more important than reading about the Cruciatus Curse.

It had been Dumbledore who'd called her to his office. She sat down and waited for him while he dealt with a sudden emergency that had to do with Filch and the Barkley twins and involved Mrs. Norris.

When Dumbledore had returned, he was smiling, although he looked strangely older than the last time Kim had been in his office and had been forced to drink the Veritaserum. She had not quite forgiven him.

"Ah, Miss Pettigrew," he said cheerfully. "I expect you are wondering why I've called you to see me?"

"Yes," Kim replied. She had to admit that she wasn't curious at all, as she expected that it had something to do with her being a Death Eater.

"I expect that you know vaguely what this is about?"

"Yes. That was a very dirty trick you pulled," she replied, not bothering to be polite.

"Yes, I agree, it was," Dumbledore replied with a sigh, "and had I known what I'd found out, then I might not have done it at all."

Kim nodded, but she still hadn't forgiven him.

"I know that Mr. Malfoy gave you instructions on Animagus transformation," he said gravely, "and as you know, Animagus transformation is against the law."

"So you're going to expel me?"

"No," Dumbledore replied with a tiny smile, "as I'm not even sure that you're able to transform."

"I can, sir," Kim replied, not wanting to repeat the Veritaserum incident.

Dumbledore surveyed her over his half-moon spectacles, "Would you care to demonstrate?"

Kim didn't reply, but instead changed into the mongoose with the black stripe down its nose and back again. She'd gotten quite good at it since she'd started practicing every night.

"A mongoose? Mongeese are of the weasel family and, unless I am much mistaken, are known for the ability to kill and eat snakes, am I correct?" Dumbledore said curiously. He was looking at her with much interest.

"Yes, sir," Kim replied. She wondered if Dumbledore was catching on to the reasons she'd changed into a mongoose. The truth was, she'd chosen the form of a mongoose BECAUSE of their ability to kill snakes. Draco had given her the idea in the Great Hall that day and she'd decided that if there was one way to get revenge on Voldemort's snake, Nagini, for killing her mother, that was the one way to do it.

"Why would you want to become a creature that has the ability to kill snakes, Miss Pettigrew?"

"Because I plan to use this tactic to get revenge on Nagini for killing my mother, sir." She might as well tell him… he would find out sooner or later, anyway…

"So you're against Voldemort now?" Dumbledore asked.

"I believe that I am, sir. Although it's very difficult to decide when I've been brought up by Death Eaters for my entire life."

"I imagine it would be," Dumbledore replied. "Why have you decided not to follow Voldemort any longer?"

"I don't suppose I should be telling you, Dumbledore," she replied. "I've been sent here to be a spy, but now I'm not even doing that job." She sighed, "I suppose it's because I was accepted here when I first came. Throughout the rest of my life, I've had to act like someone different just to survive. I don't agree with the way the Dark Lord goes about things. I'm not able to choose anything that I want to do, including who I'm going to marry. I also didn't understand why the Dark Lord wanted the Weasleys dead. When I met them, they were very civil, a little suspicious, but very civil and very nice. They're good people and I didn't think it was right to kill them because they don't follow the Dark Lord's plans.

"I also didn't agree with killing Muggles for fun," she went on, "when my mother was killed, I didn't think it was very fun, because she was close to me. It is not the fault of Muggles that they are not magic, nor is it fun to loose a treasured person. I've also thought about what the Dark Lord has said about Muggle-borns and under watch of them, they blend in very well with the wizarding crowd. If you take Hermione Granger for example, she's one of the smartest witches in the school and she's Muggle-born. She's also very nice and does not abuse her magic. I find that instead of it being an insult to the wizarding race, it is a gift to be blessed with magic, although you have been born into a Muggle family. This is now what I think, and I no longer agree with the Dark Lord's plans."

Dumbledore seemed to look at her with a curious half-smile for a moment before speaking, "You are quite right, Miss Pettigrew."

"Thank you, sir," she said breathlessly. "I'd also like to ask you, sir, if I may be so bold, if there is any way I can possibly help you to unseat the Dark Lord from the throne he has gained."

Kim could not believe she was saying this. She'd been christened a Death Eater and here she was having a conversation with Albus Dumbledore about unseating the one who had killed her mother and tightened his rein on her life. She almost wished she could take back the words before she said them, but after she did, it was as though an invisible shadow was lifted from her soul and flew away.

"I think, Miss Pettigrew," Dumbledore said, smiling, "that you can do just that. I would need proof that this is, truthfully, what you feel towards Voldemort before you can actually do anything, however."

"You don't believe me?" Kim asked, disbelieveingly, her heart sinking.

"Yes, I do," he replied calmly, "but I still need proof, just as I did with other individuals. I wonder... would it be too much to ask for you to take the Veritaserum again?"

"That works," Kim replied. She wasn't keen on taking the Truth Potion again, but now that her soul felt lighter, it was as though an invisible person was making its own decisions over what she was going to do - and it felt great.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"So, let me get this straight: you went to Dumbledore and you told him that you're going against You-Know-Who," Ginny said breathlessly, "and now you're on our side?"

"Right in one," Kim replied, leaning on her chair. "I'm going to be doing some spying for the Order and since my dad can't know, he can't tell me I can't, so I'm already able to know what's going on with everything."

"You're so lucky," Ginny replied. "I'm glad you're on our side. What made you change your mind?"

"Well, if you want to know, I was only going to tell Dumbledore that I didn't agree with the Dark Lord anymore and wasn't going to be on anyone's side," she said, tipping in her chair, "but... I got kind of carried away and I accidentally went a bit farther and asked if there was anything I could do to help your side, instead. Once I did that, it felt great! I've never felt better in my entire life! So here I am, still a spy, but now for different people."

Ginny frowned, "So now you're going to risk life and limb to get some information for us?"

"Looks that way," Kim replied, then promptly fell over as the chair she was tipping toppled over.

"Wow, that's really brave of you," Ginny said, righting the chair into its correct position.

"Yeah, that's basically what Dumbledore said," Kim replied, sitting back down again, "I don't get what's so brave about basically doing everything that I'd normally do in life with only a little alteration. I mean, sure, I might get caught somehow, but if I displeased the Dark Lord enough, I would've been killed anyway."

Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but Anna and Lauren burst into the Dormitory, talking about something or another. When they saw Kim, their happy expressions dropped from their faces.

"Hi, Kim," Lauren said soberly, "We've got some bad news to tell you."

"Really?" Kim asked, not really interested. "What would that be?"

"Terry's going out with this Hufflepuff girl in the year above us named Hannah Abbot... he doesn't seem to like you anymore," Anna said timidly, "I mean, we all had our doubts when you stopped talking to us all, but-"

"Guys, I don't care about Terry," Kim interrupted. "I only really went out with him because you guys wanted me to and because he seemed like he wanted a date for Hogsmeade. I could really care less."

"Oh," Lauren and Anna brightened, "Okay then. I'm glad you're talking to us again, Kim, we really missed you."

Kim smiled… she had been accepted all over again, as it had been from the start.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Easter Break was right around the corner when Kim was summoned, once again, to Dumbledore's office. When she was brought inside, there were two other people already there.

One was Snape, who she was slightly surprised to see. The other person she did not recognize, but was slightly startled at his appearance.

"Miss Pettigrew," Dumbledore said, "please have a seat. I know that you know Professor Snape-" Snape's lip curled slightly "-this is Alastor Moody, or Mad-Eye."

"Nice to meet you, sir," Kim said, sitting down.

She immediately saw why this man's name was Mad-Eye. He had two different colored eyes and one was overlarge and its shocking blue pupil was darting everywhere, including the back of his head and around the entire room.

"Pettigrew?" Moody growled, "I'm familiar with that name." He did not look happy.

"Miss Pettigrew has been questioned under the influence of Veritaserum and she's told me willingly that she had been named a Death Eater," Dumbledore said. Kim wondered why he was saying this in front Snape.

"I told you that, Headmaster," Snape said dangerously.

"Miss Pettigrew has also informed me that she wishes to spy for the Order, as you have been doing, Severus."

Kim stared at Snape, wide-eyed. Snape was a spy? She never would have guessed _that_ in her lifetime.

"She's been tested under the Veritaserum?" Moody repeated.

Dumbledore nodded in reply and Kim could've sworn he'd given her a tiny wink.

"Good," Moody growled, "I'm not bringing anyone to Headquarters who hasn't been tested."

"I really must insist on leaving, Headmaster, as I have a class to prepare in ten minutes," Snape butted in.

"By all means, do go, Severus," Dumbledore replied kindly, his eyes twinkling. "Just thought that both you and Miss Pettigrew should know about your spying, so there will be no confusions."

Snape left and Kim turned to Moody as he spoke to her, "So you're going to be a spy, eh? I suppose your dim-witted father dragged you into being a Death Eater."

"Yes, in some ways he did," she replied vaguely.

"Mad-Eye, this Easter Break, Kim is going to be coming to the Order's Headquarters. I want you to fill her in on what's going on then, as now is not the best of times." Dumbledore turned to Kim, "Kimberly, you will listen to Moody and follow his instruction. You must not, under any circumstances, leave Headquarters without telling someone, or tell anyone who belongs to the Order. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," Kim replied. "But I do have a question, sir."

"What's that?"

"How am I supposed to get to where I'm supposed to go and how will I send you information when I'm not there?"

"You need not worry about conveying information for the time being. That will all be explained later. As for getting to the Headquarters... Moody, am I right in saying you will meet her and the rest of them there?"

"Yeah, that's my job," he growled in reply. "Collect everyone. I realize there's going to be a right crowd of kids then, eh?"

"No, you'll be escorting only Miss Pettigrew. It's Arthur's job to collect the other eight or nine," Dumbledore replied, eyes twinkling. "Miss Pettigrew, you may now go to your last class of the day. I wouldn't want to make you late."

Kim gathered her things and walked out the door, closing it behind her, so that the last thing she heard was Moody's disbelieving voice: "Nine? How can there be nine?"

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Kim soon found herself getting off the Hogwarts Express in no time at all. She heaved her trunk outside and tried to balance her owl (who she decided to name Tam), on the seat of the train. She grabbed a trolley and yanked her trunk into it before placing Tam's cage on top. Killer, who was getting bigger and stronger, had outgrown her pocket space.

She wheeled the trolley onto the platform and was met by Moody, who looked was wearing a bowler hat to disguise his revolving eye.

"Dumbledore tells me you can Apparate," was the first thing Moody said to her, and she nodded. "Good, grab your trunk and owl and memorize this." He handed her a piece of paper that read: _The Order of the __Phoenix__ Headquarters is located at number __12 Grimmauld Place__London__England_"Got it memorized? Good." He tossed some sparks from his wand at it and it burst into flame and was destroyed. "Now let's go."

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Very suddenly, Kim found herself in front of a vacant space of lawn in between two different houses. She new better than to say anything, however, and kept her mouth shut. Moody did something to the vacant spot that she couldn't see, but suddenly there was a door in front of her.

"Get in, quick!" Moody ushered and shoved her, Killer and Tam in. "Come down this hallway..."

Kim followed Moody down a dimly lit hallway. She looked around her and noticed a few people in another room that seemed to be discussing something. She walked a little farther along and saw the curtains closed over what didn't look like it was a window. There was an umbrella stand that looked as though it was made of a troll's leg and everything all around her looked as though it would be at ease in the home of the darkest of wizards.

She had to admit that she was surprised that the Headquarters for those working against Voldemort would hide away in a place that looked as though Voldemort, himself, would have been comfortable in. Moody led her up a set of moldy stairs with a _clunk clunk. _It was then that she realized he had one wooden leg.

Moody led her down another hallway and into a room on the very end of the hall. He opened the door to a bedroom with four beds inside. It was shabby-looking and old with the smell of musty hay lingering about.

"You'll be sleeping in here," Moody said, "and you're going to be joined later by a few others. I expect Weasley will be in here..."

Moody shut the door behind him as he walked along back down the hall with the _clunk clunk_ echoing through the emptiness of the house. Kim sighed and dumped her things on the nearest bed and letting Tam out of her cage to fly around and get a good feel of everything. Then the door opened and two red-haired people popped their heads through.

"Hi, I'm Fred, and this is George," one of the boys said. They both stepped into the room and looked about. Kim then noticed that they were twins and that they both must be Weasleys, due to their vivid, red, Weasley hair and freckles.

"Hello, I'm Kim," she replied, looking curiously at the twins. "Er, are you related to Ginny?"

Fred laughed and George replied, "Ginny's our little sister. There's a bloody lot of Weasleys that're going to be here this Easter Break. Our brother, Bill, is coming, too."

"Wow. I guess Ginny wasn't lying when she said she had a lot of brothers." Kim was beginning to like the twins. They had a certain mischievous air about them that Ethan and Eric also possessed. She giggled, "You remind me of my friends, Ethan and Eric. They're twins, too."

"Are they mischief-makers?" Fred asked eagerly.

"Yeah, they're always trying to shove books up each others' noses and stuff. I remember one time when they turned one of my teacher's hair blue at dinner."

Fred and George grinned at each other. "We've been replaced, George," Fred said.

"Good. Filch could use a new generation of trouble-makers to deal with," George replied.

Kim laughed. She liked the twins a lot: they were funny.

"Fred! George!" a woman's voice called up the staircase. "Come down here for a minute!"

"Mum's calling," George said quietly.

"Why don't you come down, too?" Fred said. "I'll bet we can beat you there."

"Can you Apparate?" Kim asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You betcha," George replied, grinning.

"All right," Kim replied. "Bye!" and she Apparated downstairs.

"How can you Apparate?" Fred asked when she met them downstairs, "you don't _look_ of age."

"I'm not of age," Kim replied.

"You really shouldn't parade the fact that you can Apparate already. It's illegal, you know," Moody growled from the corner.

"Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten," Kim said, feeling slightly disgruntled, "I suppose I can almost do it if I'm in a life-or-death situation, then, right?"

Moody smiled at her through his heavily-scarred face, "No, you can do it, but keep in mind that you're not to go anywhere out of the house without someone else's permission. Now come here, I want to introduce you to a few people. You, too, Weasley and Weasley," Moody added seriously, eyeing Fred and George.

The three of them followed Moody into the other room where a pleasant-looking woman who could only be Mrs. Weasley stood waiting with a good-natured look on her face.

"Fred, George, dears, Bill is here," she said happily. Then she turned to Moody and Kim and looked at Kim for a moment, her expression slightly graver, "Is this her, Moody?"

Moody grunted a barely audible 'yes', and hobbled off, leaving Kim with Mrs. Weasley.

"Well, come on in then, dear," she said in very warm voice. "There's a few people who want to meet you."

Kim nodded, politely and walked inside the room slowly. There was a group of ten people all sitting at what looked like the kitchen table, three of which were Moody, Fred, and George.

Moody rose slightly, "Come here." He didn't seem to know what to call her, but she obeyed. "This here's Kingsley Shacklebolt," a tall, black man with a gold earring nodded to her, "Bill Weasley," he could only be a Weasley, but his hair was long and he had an earring with a fang decorating it, "Fleur Delacour," she looked as though she were part veela with long silvery-blonde hair hanging to around her waist, "Jeremy Chatfeild," Kim supposed this was Michael's father since they looked vaguely alike, "Mundungus Fletcher," Mundungus was a strange man. He had a beer belly and he seemed to look like an older Brandy Randy, "Joe Livingston," Kim dearly hoped that he wasn't James' father, "and Remus Lupin," Remus acknowledged Kim, but she was slightly surprised to see him here. He looked older than the last time they'd met, but still kindly.

"Hello," Kim said simply.

"This is Kim Pettigrew," Moody growled as though he'd rather not have to do the introducing.

A murmur broke out over the table and Kim glanced at Lupin, who was looking at her with new curiosity that lingered in his eyes. She tore her gaze away and looked at her feet.

"Oh, hush," Moody growled, loudly, "she's the new spy."

The table fell silent and everyone peered at her so that she felt like the newest animal that had been brought to the zoo.

"Pettigrew," muttered Kingsley Shacklebolt, "Peter Pettigrew? Wasn't he the spy for You-Know-Who?"

"Shut your traps," Moody growled and Kim felt a rush of gratitude that he was sticking up for her, "she's turned spy against Voldemort for us. This has been proven by the Veritaserum provided by Dumbledore, so if you've got objections, you're welcome to ask him about it."

Kim stared more determinedly at her feet and felt herself turn red.

Nobody said much for at least a minute before Moody spoke up again. "Do you think there's anything he's doing right now that we need to know about?"

Kim shook her head 'no'; "There's nothing going on with the Dark Lord that Snape wouldn't have told you."

Kim felt Moody's normal eye staring at her, "Good. Now you can go back upstairs."

Kim gave a tiny nod of her head and walked out of the room. As she walked down the hallway, hoping to explore, the front door opened and a group of people around her age rushed in.

Kim sulked toward the end of the hallway and watched who had come in. The first person she saw was Ginny, who spotted her as well and rushed over to say hi.

"Guys!" Ginny said as loudly as she dared, "Kim's here as well!"

Seven of the other eight kids that had come in looked at her. Brandy Randy, however, who was also there, didn't look twice at her and followed Mr. Weasley and a blonde-haired woman with a large nose (who had brought them there), into the next room.

Kim spotted Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were looking at her as though they were surprised to see her there. Her eyes moved over to Natalie, who looked positively alarmed at her presence. Then she rested on Orlando, Michael, and James, who Kim should've suspected she would see.

"Er, I didn't know you'd all be so unhappy to see me... sorry," Kim muttered.

"What're you doing here?" Michael asked in a curious tone.

"I'm staying, too. Not against the law, right?" She took one last look at them and Disapparated with a 'pop' into her room upstairs.


	11. Mongoose!

In her room, upstairs, Kim heard footsteps approaching the door, so he changed into her mongoose form and curled up behind her trunk on her bed. Killer was sleeping a few feet away on her Hogwarts robes.

The door opened and Hermione, Ginny, and Natalie all stepped in.

"I don't think she's in here," Ginny whispered. "Come on, let's put our stuff down."

An idea suddenly popped into Kim's head. It wasn't the brightest of ideas, but, still in her mongoose form, Kim crawled from under the bed and opened the door using her paws, so that it banged against the wall.

"What was that?" Natalie wondered.

"I don't know," Hermione replied, genuinely worried.

Kim scampered over to Ginny's leg and stood there on her hind legs, looking up at Hermione.

"Ginny," Hermione said, wide-eyed, "is it just me, or is there a mongoose near your leg?"

Ginny looked down and saw Kim and screamed. Kim laughed, but instead made that strange screeching noise and scampered over to the door and ran outside. Kim ran into the next room, which she saw was occupied by Orlando, James, and Michael. Kim vaguely wondered why there were only two beds in the room, but three people sleeping there.

"Blimey!" Orlando yelled, "Jamsie, it's the mongoose!"

"That's right," Kim yelled in the screech. She scurried over to Michael since she liked him the best and climbed up his leg onto his shoulder and nudged him with her head.

"Why does it like me?" Michael wondered vaguely in a far-away voice, like he was talking to someone uninterestedly about the weather, and not really caring.

"Kill it!" Orlando yelled and Fred and George Weasley popped in, wondering what was going on.

"What's got to be killed?" George asked.

"The mongoose!" Orlando yelled.

"Mongoose? Awesome!" Fred yelled and tried to swipe Kim off of Michael's shoulder, so she cowered behind James instead.

"We can experiment on it, George!" Fred cried, breathlessly.

"I don't know, Fred-" George began.

"Get it!" Fred roared.

Kim squeaked in alarm as George pulled a large net like the ones Ethan and Eric had tried to catch her in, except larger.

She scampered down the hallway and into a smaller room that Harry and Ron were in and crawled under Ron's bed just in time for Ron to close the door.

Fred and George banged on the door, but Ron yelled, "Go away!" and eventually they did.

"Harry, I've got a bit of a problem," Ron was saying. "It's about Hermione."

"Don't tell me," Harry interrupted, grinning, "you like Hermione."

"How'd you know?" Ron gasped. "Am I _that_ obvious?"

"Yeah, both of you are," Harry replied, "I mean, all you practically ever do is bicker: you're just like a married couple, so to speak."

Ron was blushing scarlet and Kim wanted to giggle, but realized that this would give away her position. Instead, she flattened her body out under the bed and changed back into a human and Disapparated quickly into her own room that she shared with Ginny, Hermione, and Natalie, and was relieved to find it empty.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Word of the mongoose incident spread throughout the house quickly over dinner. Mrs. Weasley had made spaghetti and meatballs for her family, all of the kids, and a few Order members who had decided to stay for dinner. One of these people who was staying was Remus Lupin, who was seated right next to Kim.

"A mongoose in your room?" he was saying to James with a smile on his features, "are you sure?"

"Positive, right 'Lando?" he said, turning to Orlando for support.

"Right in one, Jamsie, bloody fuzzy-looking weasel comes in and runs around the room," Orlando replied.

Kim began to have a coughing fit and Remus turned to look at her with twinkling eyes, "Was there a mongoose in your room, too, Kim?"

"Er, I suppose," she replied, offhandedly. "Tan-colored? Black stripe on its face?"

"Yeah," James replied, glad that she was talking to him civilly for once.

"Nope, never seen it in my life," she replied vaguely, brushing a strand of hair from her face and piling some spaghetti onto her plate.

"It was the same mongoose from Gryffindor Tower," James mused, "maybe it followed us..."

"Oh, yes, Jamsie," Orlando teased, "it was attracted to your good looks and couldn't stay away."

James shoved Orlando, who bumped into Michael on his other side. Michael was reading his Transfiguration book with interest.

"Oh, come on, Orlando, you just made me get sauce all over my book," Michael complained.

"What? I'm sorry, just don't bite me or anything," Orlando exclaimed.

Michael paled and looked at his feet. Remus watched him carefully.

"Orlando, you're very rude, you know," Kim snapped.

"Oh, so now you're biting _my_ head off instead of James'? Everybody's ganging up on me!"

"Hey, I like this better, at least she's not mad at me," James spoke up, tipping in his chair.

Kim pulled out her wand and made a gust of wind fly at James so that his chair fell over, "I'm still mad at you, James, I'm just being civil. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Ow!" James cried.

"I think she likes you, Jamsie," Orlando said, pulling up James and his chair.

"I do NOT!"

"You _do_!"

"Don't make me jinx you..."

Orlando continued to tease her and ignored her warnings.

"_Larintelli_!" Kim exclaimed, finally fed up with the Gryffindor ffth-year.

With a small 'poof', Orlando's mouth disappeared from his face.

Lupin turned to Kim, "How did you do that?"

"That jinx was put on me loads of times when I was little. The guardian that took care of me after my mom died didn't really like kids, so she'd get rid of my mouth. I kind of picked up on it," Kim replied with a little smile.

Lupin looked as though he wanted to say something, but wasn't keen on saying it at the dinner table, "You know the counter-jinx, right?"

"Er... it'll come to me eventually," Kim smiled an evil smile, "I've got a book upstairs that my dad got me for Christmas that might have it... oh, well! He looks better that way."

Orlando shot her a dirty look and James began to laugh. Michael smiled a little bit, but continued to read his Transfiguration book.

"The four of you remind me of people I used to know," Remus said with a chuckle. "Most of them are dead now, but I can remember it very clearly..."

Harry, who was sitting on the other side of Kim and had been silent through most of dinner, looked up, hopefully.

Lupin smiled at him and went on, "I used to have a friend named James, and you remind me of him. It's ironic that you've got the same name," he said to James. "Then James and I used to have a friend named Sirius, who acted somewhat like you do, Orlando. Michael, you remind me of myself, and Kim... reminds me of a girl named Lily."

Harry seemed to smile a little bit.

"Sirius?" Kim repeated, "I've heard that name before. I think I remember the Lestranges mentioning the name once or twice-"

"Wait a minute!" James exclaimed, "the Lestranges are evil!"

"Yes," Kim replied absent-mindedly.

"Go on..." Michael said, hoping Remus would continue.

"Well, I remember the time when James and Sirius made the Gryffindor Quidditch Team," Remus continued, smiling. James' and Orlando's eyes got a bit wider, "they both got pretty full of themselves after a bit. There were four of us; me, James, Sirius, and another boy in our year named Peter."

Kim looked curiously at Lupin.

"Peter used to follow us around sometimes," Remus continued.

James snorted, "Sounds like Colin..."

Remus raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. "I remember getting named Prefect because Sirius and James were such troublemakers that Dumbledore thought I could keep them in line."

Michael turned a brilliant shade of crimson and hid behind his book as James and Orlando both turned to look at him: Michael was a Prefect.

"It didn't work," Remus went on with a big smile on his tired face. "They were still as mischievous as ever. Then Lily came into the picture. She was very beautiful and James was immediately attracted to her, but Lily thought he was too full of himself for her to like. In fact, she didn't really like Sirius, either, now that I think of it."

"Why not?" Michael asked, looking over the top of his book.

"I've no clue," Remus replied. "All I know is, I was just glad that I had friends back then. I didn't think I'd get any at all."

"Why not?" Michael wondered.

"Because I was a werewolf," Lupin said without hesitation.

Michael paled as both James and Orlando looked at him in alarm.

"But, like I said, both James and Sirius were trouble-makers. They found me out one day and decided to do something about it. They became Animagai... and Peter, too."

"What sorts of animals did they turn into?" Kim wondered.

"Well James became a stag, Sirius changed into a big, black dog, and Peter," Lupin glanced at Kim pointedly, "became a rat."

Kim gasped, "But, that's like-!"

Remus nodded and continued, "Well, things began to change at Hogwarts soon enough. During our seventh year, James decided to 'deflate his head' as Lily called it. He started dating Lily around then. Soon enough, Lily and James got married and they had a son."

Harry looked to his feet, and Kim was glaring at James, who was smirking.

Remus chuckled, and then he became grave again, "Then... one day, they were murdered."

"What!" James exclaimed, "after he finally got the girl he wanted?"

Remus shook his head darkly, "They'd been hiding from Lord Voldemort-" Kim shivered "-and had entrusted Sirius with their hide-away. Dumbledore was told of this plan and all of the arrangements were made. Then, at the last minute, they changed their Secret-Keeper from Sirius to Peter. They didn't know that Peter was really working for Voldemort, however and they were killed about a week after they'd entrusted Peter with their secret."

"What happened to Sirius and Peter afterwards?" Michael wondered, closing his book and placing it on his lap.

"Well, soon after Lily and James were killed, Sirius had cornered Peter. Everyone had thought it was Sirius who'd done it, though. Peter blasted apart the street and turned into his rat form and escaped, leaving Sirius to be caught by the Ministry and hauled off to Azkaban for thirteen years before he escaped again to try and find Peter."

"Omigosh!" Kim exclaimed, "Sirius Black!"

"Correct," Lupin said with a smile. "You see how things can turn out wrong?"

"Yeah, I see what you mean," Michael said, "I just hope history doesn't repeat itself... I don't think I'll look at Colin correctly again, though..."

Remus smiled and chuckled a bit.

"What ever happened to Peter and Sirius, though?" James wondered, "they're still alive, right?"

"No. Sirius died just last year and Peter is still working alongside Voldemort," Remus replied sadly.

"No, he's not," Kim said coldly. "Peter is a sniveling coward who seems to loose his bone structure when the Dark Lord is within a ten mile radius."

Remus raised his eyebrows at this, "That's no way to talk about your father, Kimberly."

James', Orlando's, and Michael's eyes became as round as coins at this statement.

"So what? I don't think he can hear me. Even if he could, he's such a coward that even _I_ have more control over his life then he does, so he probably wouldn't admit he'd heard me."

"So that's what's become of Peter?" Remus said thoughtfully, "I might have known."

"And all this time I've been wondering what everyone meant about him being a traitor..." she said wistfully, "I've never heard that story before. So then," she turned to Harry, "I hope it doesn't make you mad, was that story about your parents?"

"Yeah," Harry replied in a croaky voice. "I'm, uh, gonna go to bed..."

Harry got up and walked away from the table, looking at his feet.

"Oh, dear," Kim said, worriedly "I hope he's not angry at me or anything!"

"No, he just needs some time alone," Remus replied quietly, "it's not an easy thing to hear."

"No. It isn't," Michael agreed.

Orlando began waving his hand in the air madly.

"Oh, _sorry, __Orlando_!" Kim exclaimed, "hold on," she stood, "I'll get the book," she said, running into her room.

She dug through her things and found the book she needed, a huge, heavy one titled: _Advanced Jinxes_. She ran back downstairs and dropped the heavy book on the table with a resounding thud and began flipping through it until she found the counter-jinx.

"Oh, how simple!" she exclaimed with a giggle, "_Simil!_"

Orlando's mouth suddenly re-appeared and he began breathing deeply from it, "So, my question was: Do you think history is going to repeat itself? I mean, all the factors are here and everything."

"Do you plan on becoming Animagai anytime soon?" Remus asked, smiling.

"It sounds like fun," James admitted.

"It _is_ fun," Kim replied absent-mindedly, pouring through the book while she spoke, "especially the part from the animal's point of view."

"And how would _you_ know?" Orlando asked quickly.

"Never mind," Kim said quickly, "besides, all of the factors aren't here. Michael doesn't disappear on the full moon, so he's not a werewolf."

"Yeah, well, Michael's not a _werewolf_, you're right," Orlando said with a grin that meant he was hiding something.

Kim rolled her eyes, "Whatever. I'm not marrying James. Good night everyone! Thanks for the cold, hard facts, Remus!"

She picked up her book and climbed the stairs up toward her room and pushed open Harry's door. Ron wasn't there, but Harry was.

"Harry, can I come in?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, sure," came a small reply.

She pushed the door open the rest of the way and went inside to see Harry flipping through an old photo album, "What're you looking at?"

"Pictures," he replied simply.

She sat down next to him and peered down. It was a picture of five people standing in front of a large, white Victorian house: a man who looked almost identical to Harry had his arm around a girl with long, auburn hair's waist. The girl was smiling, as was a sandy-haired boy who looked slightly tired and underfed. There were scratches all over his body and a book was tucked under his arm. The man next to him was very handsome with a look of laughter that was plastered onto his face and dark hair that fell gracefully into his face. The last man was very watery-looking and slightly chubby with a pointed nose.

"That's my dad," she whispered.

Harry said nothing.

"He actually looks halfway normal in this picture," she said, surprised. "You should show this picture to Lupin."

"You know, that's a good idea. I think I will," Harry replied. He closed the book and got up. He flashed Kim a smile, which she returned and headed downstairs, wondering why her heart was fluttering like a trapped butterfly.


	12. 12 Grimmauld Place

The first thing Kim saw the next morning when she went downstairs was Remus sitting in an old armchair, flipping through the photo album that Harry had been looking at the previous night and smiling. Killer was flouncing airy about his legs, hoping to be scratched behind the ears ever since Kim had decided Remus was safe (as Killer was very protective and refused to like anyone Kim didn't approve of first). Kim smiled and walked by him toward the kitchen, where she spotted Mundungus and Brandy Randy practically tearing the kitchen apart.

"What're you looking for?" Kim had to yell.

"FIREWHISKEY!" they both roared at her, still ripping apart the kitchen.

"Oh, but you're messing up the kitchen!" she exclaimed. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!"

Both Brandy Randy and Mundungus were lifted into the air and just floated there, looking at her angrily, while Brandy Randy clawed at thin air.

"_There_ you two are!" Mrs. Weasley said, coming into the kitchen. Her eyes were flashing dangerously, "And what have you done to the kitchen? I'd just cleaned it last night!"

"It's okay, Mrs. Weasley, I'll clean it," Kim said quickly, then turning to Mundungus and Brandy Randy, she said, "if you'd like some firewhiskey, go see Orlando, he's probably got some on him. Either that, or go somewhere that you can buy it _legally_."

She levitated them both down to the ground and they looked at her spitefully.

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley said kindly, glaring at the two of them as they went upstairs in search of Orlando.

"You're welcome," Kim replied and shoved her wand in her back pocket. Then she set to tidying the kitchen. It was a chore she didn't mind, since she'd had to do it before when she'd been living with the Notts, who had been her guardians.

Mrs. Weasley, Kim learned was a very nice and kindly woman with a dangerous temper, and by the time they were done cleaning the kitchen, Kim had begun to look up to her as a sort of mother figure.

"Thank you for your help, dear," Mrs. Weasley said thankfully. "I don't know why they let those two in the house, even if Mundungus is in the Order."

"Molly, can you come here for a moment?" someone called from another room.

Mrs. Weasley thanked Kim again and hurried out, wiping her hands on her dress. Kim sighed and sat down on the floor.

"Hey, Kim," Ginny said, walking in the kitchen. "They're having a meeting, so I'm not allowed in."

"That stinks," Kim replied as Ginny sat down, too. "Do you want to do something? I'm rather bored."

"We could try to borrow Fred and George's Extendible Ears, but they've probably put a Silencing Charm on the room, so it wouldn't help," Ginny replied. "Did you know that the mongoose came back last night?"

"Did it?" Kim asked vaguely and shoving a giggle back down her throat.

"Yeah. Shame you're never around to see it," Ginny replied.

"I've seen it," Kim said slyly. She decided to tell Ginny of her powers, but she wasn't keen on anyone else finding out.

"Have you?" Ginny asked curiously. "Good, it means I'm not going mad..."

"I've got to tell you a secret, Gin, but you can tell anybody, okay?"

"Sure."

"Okay, here it goes," she said and changed into the mongoose form.

Ginny gasped, "You're just like Sirius was! He was an unregistered Animagus, too!"

"Shhh," Kim whispered, changing back, "you're not supposed to tell anyone! Only Dumbledore knows, and probably Moody."

"I won't tell a soul-"

"Kim? Are you coming, dear?" Mrs. Weasley called from the other room. "You're in this, too, you know."

"Oops. I'd forgotten," Kim murmured, blushing. "Bye, Gin."

She scrambled to her feet and followed Mrs. Weasley's voice, "I didn't think I was allowed in. Sorry."

"It's quite all right, dear," she replied kindly as Kim walked inside and sat down.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The meeting had gone along quickly. Kim had been surprised when a woman named Tonks suddenly changed her hair color with a tiny 'pop' and when Moody plucked his magical eye out of his head and put it in a glass of water, while it still zoomed around wildly. But what surprised her the most was seeing Hagrid, her Care of Magical Creatures teacher show up for the meeting.

By the end of the time, Kim had squashed several suspicions that people had voiced about what Voldemort was doing or how he was going about things. She'd also been assigned the task of getting a list of all of the Death Eaters that she could, just in case there were some that Snape wasn't familiar with.

After being given this task, the meeting ended and everyone began exiting and Disapparating or just leaving the room. Kim Disapparated back up to her bedroom, where she hoped to get her book and read for awhile before dinner. She Apparated inside and found Ron and Hermione snogging on the bed. They both looked up at her in embarrassment and alarm.

Kim grabbed her book and sighed, "I'm not going to tell anyone... I'll just leave you two at it," and Disapparated back downstairs with a 'pop'.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Over the course of the next few days, Kim found herself falling in love with #12 Grimmauld Place and its occupants. She wished that the Easter Break would never end and she'd be able to stay there for years. It had been the happiest time of her life in a _long_ time. She'd also met several new members of the Order, such as Jerry Lovegood, who was Luna's father, and even Professor McGonagall, who looked just as surprised to see Kim there as Kim did to her.

She was saddened to meet the end of vacation, as was almost everyone else in the house. When it came time for her to leave, she Apparated there with Mrs. Weasley long after everyone else had left.

"Now don't get into trouble, dear," Mrs. Weasley said as she bid her good-bye.

"I'll try not to, Mrs. Weasley, but it seems to follow me around like a lost puppy," she replied with a smile.

Mrs. Weasley just shook her head the way she did when Fred and George did something troublesome before giving her a warm hug. Kim liked that part the best, because she couldn't remember being hugged like that for a long time.

She boarded the train sadly and sat in a compartment with Ginny, Orlando, Michael, and James.

Orlando and James didn't seem to know how to act around her after they'd learned that she was a spy. Michael, however, went about his business as usual and was reading a book and sucking on a Blood-Flavored Lollipop absent-mindedly.

Kim had wondered about Michael's behavior lately. She'd gone into the boys' room late one night because Orlando had stolen her copy of _A Study of the Dark Arts_, to find that Michael was locked in the closet. When she'd tried to open it, Michael yelled at her not to open the door and Orlando and James covered it up by saying that he liked the closet and that he was probably changing inside of it.

She shook the thought from her head and dove back into her book.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The days went by at Hogwarts and Kim found herself studying every night for her O.W.L.s before everyone else had even thought of it. Hermione seemed to approve of this and helped her out with it when she had the time.

Quidditch was also going very well. There was only one more game until the final match and Gryffindor's chances were great. They would be playing against Slytherin.

Before her O.W.L.s, however, Kim found herself facing something that would be much more difficult: Career Advice with Professor McGonagall.

Her time to discuss her possible future was scheduled on a Thursday during Divination, so she left the classroom a few minutes early, to make sure she wouldn't be late and waited outside for a moment.

Dumbledore had thought it wise that she should keep the last name Barkley so no one would get suspicious of her, most of all, Draco, so she was the first to be brought into the office.

"Now, Kimberly, do you have any idea what you'd like to be when you get older? You're here so we can discuss any ideas you might have and which subjects you'll want to continue taking in your sixth and seventh years," said Professor McGonagall, as she flipped through Kim's small records.

"Er..." Kim had thought about it a great deal and could think of one thing which she'd decided that she wanted to do most, but saying it aloud made her feel awkward: "I.. well, I suppose I'd like to look into a career as a... Healer."

The Professor glanced at her though her square spectacles and continued flipping through the file of records. "Well your grades are quite outstanding in almost all of your courses. Healing is a very responsible job, but not too many people have been taken on in the past few years. I suppose you'll want to know which courses you should take?"

"Yes," said Kim politely.

"You would need to take Transfiguration, and at the rate you're going, you should do just fine in getting into my N.E.W.T. class. You'd need to achieve at least an 'Exceeds Expectations' in all of your N.E.W.T.s courses. You'd need to continue in Charms, which is another class that if you keep up your work you should pass easily in, obviously you'd need to take Potions, but Professor Snape is a very strict grader and you'd need to achieve an 'Outstanding' in his course for him to even consider taking you on, so you'll need to work an ounce better at that. Then you'd need to continue Herbology: Professor Sprout seems to be very impressed with your work, so you shouldn't have trouble at all in getting that, either. Then you'd need Defense Against the Dark Arts. I must say that Professor Croft thinks that you'd need to work a bit harder in this subject as he, well, to tell you the truth Miss Pettigrew, he's rather suspicious of the fact that you keep on mentioning Unforgivable Curses at the wrong times. You'll need to watch that."

Professor McGonagall smiled, "Other than working a bit harder in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts, you should you well in becoming a Healer if you decide to continue down that path. I also should let you know, that if you're going to try become a Healer, you must be very patient. You can go now if you have no questions."

"Thank you, Professor." Kim walked out of the classroom and saw Lauren standing outside, waiting.

"Did it go okay?" Lauren wondered.

"Yeah. She said I've got almost everything I need. Good Luck." Kim raced back to Divination and found that the class was all assembled on their backs and looking up at the bewitched ceiling where the stars were twinkling above. Kim sighed and lay down on her back next to Ginny and began listening to what the Divination teacher, Firenze, who was a centaur, was saying about the way Mars was glowing brightly.


	13. The Lair of Voldemort

_The night that Paddy Murphy died,_

_I will not forget!_

_The entire town got stinkin' drunk,_

_and__ some ain't sober yet!_

_But the thing that I remember most,_

_that__ filled my heart with fear:_

_They plucked the eyes right from the corpse,_

_and__ threw them in the beer!_

The sound of Brandy Randy's singing filled the entire path of Hogsmeade. It was strange how deserted the town was, even considering it was a week before exams.

"Shut-up, Randy," James said through gritted teeth.

"For once, I'm agreeing with you, James," Kim added quietly.

Brandy Randy looked put out, and did not sing any longer. Instead, he took a giant swig of the bottle of firewhiskey that he was carrying.

"I don't get it," Ginny muttered, "where is everyone?"

"Don't ask me," Kim replied. However, she, too, was curious. Why was the town seemingly empty? Something familiar lurked about the premises. It was like a stench that she remembered from her childhood.

"Everyone's probably back up at school, studying," Orlando said distastefully.

"Well, they're very smart, then, aren't they?" Michael pointed out.

"Well we don't need to study, we're still first years, so we don't really care," Eric said, kicking a pebble out of the road.

"I keep forgetting that you guys have O.W.L.s this year," Ron murmured, "Good luck! They were bloody terrible!"

"Well, _I_ thought that they were quite simple after studying so much," Hermione replied bossily.

"Do you have any idea where Luna went?" Kim wondered, trying to bring the subject away from her upcoming exams.

"No clue. She was here just a second ago," Ginny replied.

"She probably spotted a Crumple-Horned Thingy-Ma-Bob," Orlando snorted and Brandy Randy took another long swig of firewhiskey.

"You know that it's a very bad habit to drink, don't you, Randy?" Hermione asked disapprovingly.

"Hold on," Kim said suddenly. "Something's not right."

"Well obviously! We've just established the weird fact that Hogsmeade is practically empty," Natalie replied. She looked rather tired and Kim was again reminded of the thought that perhaps she was a werewolf like her father. Since the full moon was that night, she wondered whether Natalie would be transforming or whether she had just let her mind wander off.

"No, she's right," Harry, who had been silent up until this point, agreed.

"I don't know why, but the air... smells familiar," Kim went on, as her heart lightened knowing that she wasn't the only one who felt this way.

"It _smells_ familiar?" James repeated disbelievingly, shaking his head as though she were mad.

"Er… I thing we should leave!" Harry suddenly exclaimed and rubbed at his suddenly prickling scar.

"Oh, it's _much_ too late for that," said an icy voice.

Death Eaters appeared out of nowhere. Their black cloaks swished threateningly as they closed in on the group of twelve students. One had the unconscious Luna slung over his shoulder.

"Luna!" Ginny gasped.

"That's right," teased the Death Eater, whose voice Kim recognized as Macnair. "We've got your little friend and now we've come for you."

"Well done, Pettigrew," the voice of Lucius Malfoy issued from the nearest Death Eater's hood.

"You!" Ron exclaimed, looking angrily at Kim, "You sold us out!"

"That's right," Kim replied. This was not true, of course. She'd only found out that very morning from Draco about the planned ambush. She had not thought about it being at Hogsmeade, however, but could do nothing except play along at this point. She'd sent something to Moody by owl, but it was in code, so she realized that it might take a good few minutes to decipher and she wasn't sure when he'd get it. Ginny stared at her and Kim sent the message _IT'S NOT TRUE! _nervously though her eyes.

Ginny seemed angry however, and did not receive this vague message. Realizing this, Kim turned away, fearing that she had just lost her best friend.

Several of Kim's friends groped for their wands, but the Death Eaters were already ahead of them.

"I wouldn't go for wands if I were you," Jugson said irritably. "Or we'll have to kill your little friend here."

Macnair shuffled Luna on his shoulder and pulled out his wand.

"_Stupefy_!" shouted a few of the Death Eaters and Kim watched with a pang as the twins and both Weasleys fell to the ground in a stunned trance.

"Dolohov, Macnair, grab the Lovegood girl and the Weasleys," Malfoy ordered, glancing at the twins, "and take the twins, too. They're witnesses."

Wands pointed at the rest of the group, the two Death Eaters hastened to obey.

"Stupefy!" Karl's voice echoed, "Stupefy!"

Kim watched with anger boiling inside of her as the rest of her friends except Harry, Hermione, and Michael were all hit with the red light and stunned.

"Come here, Kimberly," Karl ordered imperiously.

Thinking it best to obey for the moment, Kim strode across the ground over to his side.

"You're a traitor, Pettigrew. Like father, like daughter," Harry spat ruefully at her.

This rather made Kim feel like slaughtering herself on the spot. She did not reply and tried to ignore Harry's angry insults before one of the Death Eater's shouted, "Shut the boy up!" and he was stunned, too, earning a shriek from Hermione.

"Take the other two, Pettigrew," Karl's father, Rodolphus, ordered and headed off with James and Orlando slung over his shoulders.

Karl had been busy holding Kim's body tightly to his, in places she would have preferred he steer clear of, but let go when this order was issued, of which Kim was glad. She strode over to Hermione and Michael, who were watching her with disgust.

Kim leaned in toward the two of them and attached invisible cords to their hands and took their wands. Meanwhile, she leaned in very close to Hermione and whispered, "I don't know where they're taking you, but when we get there, I'll try to give you back your wand. Try to tell Michael."

She said this in the tiniest of whispers and Hermione seemed shocked.

"Come on!" she said gruffly, tugging at the invisible line so that Hermione and Michael stumbled slightly.

Kim looked at her purposefully and was heartened to see her edge over to Michael and try to whisper something in his ear.

"No talking amongst the prisoners, or we stun the both of you, as well," Malfoy hissed.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Here," Lucius said, thrusting a handful of wands into Kim's hands, "guard these. Obviously, you're not to give them to the prisoners. Draco will be watching them with you."

Draco stepped from behind his father and smirked at the captives that had been taken from Hogsmeade, who were all conscious at the moment and bound tightly with invisible cords. Kim cringed. This would be much more difficult with Draco here. He knew all of her tricks.

"The others are in here already," Draco said, holding the door open for Kim so that she could toss all twelve of her fellow students inside. Kim peered inside as they filed in, trying to subdue to Harry, who was trying to resist, and James, who hated her at the moment.

She was slightly surprised to find that the room was not empty. Seven other people who were ranging in what looked like ages 5 to 16 were also inside. There were twenty sets of shackles that were bolted firmly into the wall all in a row.

The first set of shackles held a little black girl who looked no older than five. She was crying and wailing uncontrollably and screaming for her father. Kim's heart went out to the girl, but she couldn't say anything.

The next set of shackles was empty, so she dragged Harry over to them and locked him in. Lucius Malfoy, who was watching to make sure they did it right, seemed to smirk. Harry swore at Kim while she locked him in. She hesitated, feeling worse about the entire situation... like she was going to throw-up, but moved on.

The third set was occupied by a twelve-year-old girl with lots of curly hair, who was speaking rapidly in French and sobbing every so often. Kim passed by her and to the next set of shackles, which contained a girl who she'd seen at Hogwarts and was known as Susan Bones.

The next set was empty, so she dragged Michael over to it and made a great job of locking him in. While doing this, she whispered, "Your wand in my pocket. Diversion later."

As Draco's father was beginning to grow impatient, she moved on and placed Luna, who was staring dreamily at the ceiling, in the next pair of shackles, and Natalie in the next.

The next set was empty as well, and Kim was about to drag Ron over to it, when Draco intervened, "Let me do it." He sounded eager, so Kim let him. He put Ron in the shackles upside-down so that his feet were in the holes instead of his arms.

"Oi!" Ron cried, "what's _wrong_ with you?"

Draco looked at him evilly, then turned to his father in a pleading voice, "Can I _please_ kill him? There's another Weasley..."

"No, Draco," Lucius replied with a smirk, "that'll wait 'til later."

Hermione gave a dry sob from where she was waiting and Kim' began to feel sorry for her. She took Hermione and placed her in the shackles next to Ron and whispered, "Distraction later."

To Hermione's dismay, however, Brandy Randy, who was snoring with a bad hangover, was put right on her other side.

The next set of shackles was occupied by none other than Neville Longbottom, whose head drooped sadly.

Kim slid Orlando in next to him, and passed by two girls who were about the same age, one with silvery-blonde hair, and the other with short blue curls, who were squabbling, one in broken English and the other whose eyes were flashing different colors.

Next to the one with the blue curls, Kim placed Ginny carefully, who tried to kick her. She ignored her and moved on, putting Ethan next to her and another boy who had mousy hair, a large nose, and was rather weedy looking. On the other side of the boy, she put Eric in the shackles and James in the nineteenth set, leaving one pair empty.

Malfoy's expression suddenly changed to a glum look, "Father, can't we lock Nassandra in here, too?"

"Why would you want to lock Nassandra in here?" Kim asked quickly, "she's on our side."

"Yeah, well, she scares me," Draco replied quietly.

"No, Draco," Lucius said impatiently. He turned to Kim, "I have to leave. Make sure my son doesn't do anything stupid."

He left the room to Draco's angry huffing. A few moments passed while the small sobs of the little girl, Hermione, and Susan echoed around the chamber.

"Oh, shut up," muttered Draco under his breath. "Stupid little kid..."

Kim shot him a glance and went over to the little girl. "What's your name?" she asked calmly to the five-year-old.

"C-Cindy," she replied through her tears.

"Cindy is a pretty name. What's your last name?" she went on soothingly.

"S-Shacklebolt," she stammered, clearly taken by surprise at this act of slight kindness.

_Kingsley's daughter_, Kim realized, and her heart began to feel as though it had been pierced.

Draco, however, snorted. "What a fitting last name," he sneered, glancing at the girl's shackles that bound her hands.

"Hush, Draco. She's distressed. Honestly..." she trailed off.

"Why do you care? You're supposed to be heartless. But then, what do I know," he sneered at her, "I'm just a _middle-rank_ Death Eater, and you're part of the _high-rank_, the Dark Lord's right hand..."

"Yes I am, and don't you forget it," she snapped.

"You're both scum," Ron hissed from his upside-down position. His legs were up against the wall and the rest of him was sprawled over the floor. He had Hermione's hand in his and was trying to calm her down.

Kim said nothing, but Draco retorted, "Yeah, and you're upside-down, locked up, and you don't have a wand... and insulting me. Does that sound smart to you?" He turned to Kim for her answer and she shook her head 'no'.

"You think you're a big man, don't you, Malfoy?" Harry said from the end in-between Cindy and the French girl.

"You know it, Potter," Malfoy replied with a sneer.

Kim snorted behind his back, remembering when he'd dropped his trousers in front of her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he exclaimed looking angry.

"I, er, something flew up my nose," she said with a tiny smile that revealed she was lying.

Draco eyed her angrily and fell silent as though wishing he could hex every inch of her body.

"I love it when they turn on each other," the weedy boy that was in-between the twins said with a small laugh.

"And who do you think you are?" Draco snapped.

"Lance Vance, thirteenth and last child of Emmeline Vance," he replied proudly.

"Thirteen?" Draco exclaimed, "that's worse than you, Weasley!"

Ron and Ginny growled at him and glared.

"I have twelve older sisters," Lance Vance went on.

"Sucks to be you," Draco snorted.

"I find it interesting," Kim contradicted and turned to the two girls who had been fighting with each other.

She realized suddenly that the girl with the blue curls suddenly had long brown hair to her waist and realized that whoever she was, she was probably related to Tonks as the girl with the silvery-blonde hair pulled the brunette's hair and it changed to orange.

"What are _your_ names?" she asked them.

"Me?" the girl with the changing hair asked, pointing to herself. When Kim nodded, she replied, "I'm Serelina Tonks, not that it's anything to _you_, Death Eater scum!"

"I am Gabrielle Delacour," the girl with the silvery hair added with a French accent. Both of the girls seemed to be about nine years old. Gabrielle seemed to regard Kim with a look as though she were something nasty she had stepped in.

"Why are we here?" Neville piped up.

Draco smirked, "I wondered when someone would be asking that question, Longbottom. You're here to lure the Order of the Phoenix members here, so my master can spring a trap on them. But I suppose it depends on who you are..." He glanced at Harry.

"Oh, I see," Kim murmured. Then louder she went on, "Cindy's father is in the Order, Harry's here because the Dark Lord wants to kill him, er, I dunno why the French weirdo's here, Susan is here because her uncle was in the Order and her aunt is an anti-Dark wizard representative at the Ministry, Michael's here because his dad's in the Order, the same goes for Luna, Natalie, and Ron, Hermione's here because she's Muggle-born and knows too much about the Order, Brandy Randy is here because his uncle is in the Order, Neville is here because his parents _were_ in the Order-" Neville gave her an angry glare and a dry sniff "-and because his great uncle belongs to the Order as well, Orlando... why is Orlando here, Draco?"

"He was with the group when they were ambushed," he grunted.

"Oh, sorry, Orlando, looks like you don't even need to be here... Gabrielle and Serelina are here because their sisters are in the Order, Ginny's here because her parents are in it, er... Ethan?"

"Same as the other one," Draco replied gleefully.

"Oooh, bad luck, Ethan and Eric, I guess you didn't need to be here either. Lance, your mother is in the Order, right?"

"Yep," he replied proudly.

"Okay, and James' parents are in the Order, too!" she finished.

"What was the point of keeping us here, then?" Orlando asked, bitterly.

"You're witnesses," Draco replied simply.

There was a stony and tense silence for a long time.

Finally Draco said hoarsely, "Night is arriving."

"What does nighttime have to do with anything?" Kim wondered.

Michael turned pale and Orlando and James cast nervous glances at him, while Natalie seemed to be thinking hard about something.

"Nothing," Draco answered sullenly, jamming his hands into his robe pockets. "I just like nighttime better…"

"Er, I have a bit of a confession to make," Michael said, looking at his legs so that his face was indistinguishable.

Outside, it was dark and the only light came from a few shimmering bubbles that Kim had provided with her wand. The moon, however, was not yet in sight.

"What do you want?" Draco asked impatiently as Ron's stomach growled.

"Well, you see..." Michael began and looked up into Kim's face, making her gasp, "I'm a-"

"VAMPIRE!" Susan screamed and edged over to the French girl as far as she could. Luna, however, stayed stationary.

It was true. Two long white fangs were protruding over Michael's lower lip. He looked sad and tired.

"Er, guys-" Natalie began.

"Not now, Natalie, we've got a vampire in here with us!" Ron exclaimed.

"Er, guys-" she said again, looking outside the window, where the moon was emerging from behind a cloud.

"We're trying to solve a problem, Natalie, hold on a minute!" Hermione said exasperatedly.

"Er, guys-!"

"Nah, Michael's safe. He's got great self-control," Orlando was reassuring everyone. "Hey, Michael! Haven't you still got some of those Blood-Flavored Thingies?"

"Er, guys...!"

"Yeah, I suppose, but they're in my pocket and I can't reach..."

"GUYS!" Natalie screamed so loudly that the walls echoed with it for half a minute.

"_What_?" Ron exclaimed loudly.

"I'M A _WEREWOLF_!"

A horrified silence fell about the group.

"Oh my goodness, and you haven't had your potion, have you?" Hermione asked, stricken.

Natalie shook her head.

Kim was about to apologize for what she was about to do, but then remembered that she was a Death Eater: she could do whatever she wanted.

Ron edged away as far as he could from Natalie so that he was practically on Hermione's lap. Luna, however, who was chained in between both Michael and Natalie, didn't seem to care.

Kim rushed over and made the window lock tight so that no moonlight could come inside and stunned Natalie with her wand. There were a few sighs of relief and a couple cries calling out injustice.

There was a moment where no one said anything for awhile.

"Hello, everyone!" a cheery voice called so suddenly that several people jumped.

"_Ack_! Nassandra!" Draco cried and jumped behind Kim.

Into the room stepped the strangest looking girl any of them had ever seen. She was dressed in black robes, but there were several bright-colored pins attached to the front. She had dyed her hair green and it was flying everywhere. She had a plastic ring in her nose that was orange in color and was carrying a large cauldron of sickly-looking water. Six small children where hanging off of her in odd places; one was on her head, two who looked about one year old each and were twins were in both pockets, one was hanging onto her leg, one was on her shoulder and another was following her on his own legs. She looked about seventeen or eighteen.

"Hi, Nassandra," Kim said cautiously, "what've you got there?"

Nassandra's voice was oddly high-pitched and sounded like she was always laughing. "Soup," she replied simply with a cackle.

"Oh, er, that's nice," Kim replied eyeing what she'd thought was tainted water, while Draco tried to hide behind her, failing miserably.

"Yeah, I made it-" she began before the little girl who was sitting on her head slid into the cauldron with a splash, spraying Kim with "soup", as well as Nassandra. "Revenge! Get out of the soup!"

Nassandra pulled the little girl from the cauldron. She was soaked but looked happy.

"She's the spawn of Satan, himself!" Nassandra shrieked in her shrill, high-pitched voice.

"Calm down, Nassandra!" Kim said quickly. "It's fine."

"Yeah," Draco agreed, feebly, while the captives stared at the strange girl.

"Er, excuse me," Lance Vance said politely, "why were you shrieking 'revenge'?"

"What?" Nassandra asked quickly. "That's her name: Revenge."

"Oh, what a horrid name," Susan whispered from her corner, next to Michael.

"Thank you," Nassandra replied, happily, "my other children are Moonunit, she's the one on my leg, my oldest is Celtelusios, the one on my shoulder is Eleven, and the twins are Zute and Zilch."

"Zut! Zut! Zut a lores!" cried the French girl, making the baby on the left gurgle.

"Yes, quite," Nassandra agreed and made to leave the room.

"Er, Nassandra, can you do me a favor?" Kim said quickly. Nassandra turned around to listen. Kim walked up to her and whispered something into her ear.

"Of course I can," Nassandra replied, "that's the reason I'm here. Otherwise, I'd change my ways and go join those Order of the Phoenix maniacs in protest."

She left the room.

"What did you ask her to do?" Draco wondered lazily, simply happy that she was gone.

"Nothing," Kim snapped, "don't ask questions."

Draco's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Kim sighed, "If you MUST know… I told her to get me a tampon, okay?"

Draco recoiled and made a disgusted face.

"Hey, deal with it. You needed to know…" Kim smirked.


	14. Freedom Comes at a Cost

About fifteen minutes after Nassandra had gone, Kim heard a small mewing noise in the corner.

"Killer!" she cried happily and scooped up the bow-legged Kneazle into her arms.

Killer didn't look so forlorn any longer. True, he was still a bit scruffy-looking, but was quite well fed and happy. He was also very protective of Kim and refused to let her out of his sight whenever possible.

"Has he been hanging around here ever since Christmas?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Nope. He's been everywhere with me, haven't you, Killer?" she crooned over him. "Look, daddy's here, too!" Her voice suddenly changed very commanding, "Draco, give your son a hug!"

Killer meowed and stared at Draco through big, yellow eyes.

"No way! I'm not touching that thing, it has fleas!" he refused, aware Ron's silent fits of laughter.

"Now," Kim ordered, eyes flashing. She was determined to make a fool out of Draco before she ruined him.

"Fine, only just this once," Draco consented and carefully picked Killer up in his hands, clearly unaware of how to hold him.

Killer purred and seemed to smile at him.

Harry burst into laughter and even Lance Vance seemed to be trying not to laugh. Ron followed in suit until almost everyone in the room was surpressing giggles.

"Shut up or I'll curse all of you," Draco exclaimed, making almost everyone fall silent except Ron, who couldn't seem to stop laughing. "Think it's funny, do you, Weasley?"

Killer began to growl and dropped to the floor.

"Yeah, Draco's a daddy," Kim went on.

"You shut up or I'll hex you," Draco spat.

"Big talk... that's all you are, Draco," Kim said smoothly. _If I play my cards right_, she realized, _I won't even need to stick to the plan._

"What did you just call me?" Draco asked angrily.

"Like I said before, I love it when they turn on each other," Lance Vance said with a sigh.

"You shut up," Draco exclaimed and turned his wand to Lance, "_Kinita_!"

Lance suddenly began to look rather sick as the color rushed from his face and his lips turned blue. Hermione began to shriek and covered her eyes.

"Stop it! You'll kill him!" Kim cried. "_Kintaray_"

"What? Now you're sticking up for the prisoners?" Draco questioned as Lance returned back to normal, panting.

"No. You've forgotten that you NEVER EVER use a curse that someone has made themselves without permission from the curse-maker," Kim retorted, "and in this case, the curse-maker was me, so you'd better cut it out or I'll use it on you!"

"You're too much of a goody-goody to use a curse like that on me," he sneered.

"Say that one more time, Malfoy," she whispered dangerously, "I _dare_ you."

"You're too much of a goody-goody to-"

"_Winkemegalos_" Kim cried angrily.

Before their eyes Malfoy began to screech in pain as he fell to the ground in a puddle-like blob.

"What did you do to him?" Susan screeched, recoiling.

"I removed all of his bones and muscles," Kim answered simply as if it were nothing.

"Put him right!" Serelina pleaded.

"For once I agree with 'er. It's 'orrid," Gabrielle agreed, covering her eyes.

"Sure. In a few minutes, though," she replied cheerfully. Since he can't see or hear a thing, due to lack of muscles in his eyes and ears, I'll just explain something to you, shall I?"

"We don't want to listen to you!" Harry spat at her. "You're a traitor!"

"No, she's not, Harry," Hermione intervened. "Go on," she said politely.

"All right," she said clapping her hands together. "I've got all of your wands and I know how to get you out of these shackles. I can't be long. I've sent Moody a message, which I hope he's gotten by now, but I can't be sure. I've lain out a plan with Nassandra-"

"Can you trust Nassandra?" Michael asked quickly.

"Oh, yes," Kim replied, "if she weren't bound to this place, she would have left ages ago. You heard her..."

"Why can't she leave?" Ron asked, overcoming his surprise at finding out that his kidnapper was on his side.

"Because of enchantments," Kim replied sadly, "and I would have been in her position, too, if I hadn't become a Death Eater, which is why I am."

"Why don't they modify her memory and let her go?" Hermione asked. "Or... kill her like the barbarians that they are?"

"Because she's... well, I dunno if I should be saying this in front of some of you," she glanced at Cindy, who didn't seem to be listening, "because... she's a sort of slave... a, er, _pleasure_ slave. Why do you think she has so many children?"

Everyone who had been listening let their mouths fell open in horror and disgust.

"Anyway, so I've got a plan set up," Kim continued. Even Cindy turned to look.

Lance seemed to be doing serious thinking.

"I have a plan, but I need you all to help me thwart what the Dark Lord is doing in this castle. Is everybody willing to come?" Kim asked.

"I'll come," Harry and Ron chorused together.

"Oh, very well, I'm coming, too," Hermione added.

"Maybe I could bite somebody," Michael said hopefully.

"Then we're coming, too," Orlando and James chorused.

"Don't leave me out!" Lance Vance called. "I've got a friend who might be able to help."

"I refuse to be left behind," Ginny said quickly.

"Oi! Don't leave me and Eric out!" Ethan called.

"I'd be honored if I were able to come," Luna whispered.

"I'm coming, too, you can't leave me behind!" Neville added, hopefully.

"I was in the D.A.," Susan said, shooting Harry a glance, "so what I learned might help a bit."

"Woah!" Kim exclaimed, accidentally stepping into the puddle that was Draco. "Okay, so Brandy Randy has a wand, but he's got a hangover... _Drekinata_"

Brandy Randy got up and blinked a few times, stupidly and reached for the bottle of Firewhiskey that had rolled away and out of reach. Kim made it disappear with a flick of her wand and he looked at her angrily.

"I need to learn that spell…" Orlando murmured.

"And the French girl, er-"

"J'mappelle Fern Meadowes!" the French girl said.

"She says 'er name ees Fern Meadowes," Gabrielle translated.

"Right, and Fern has her wand." Kim glanced around, "I take it that Cindy, Serelina, and Gabrielle don't have their wands, yet? Right?"

"Right," Serelina replied, "so that leaves us unprotected."

"Well, Brandy Randy is about as much help to you as a Poltergeist," Kim pondered, thoughtfully as Brandy Randy gave her a spiteful glare. "Unless he decides to help. If he does, then I'll buy him some really strong alcohol that he can drink that's better than firewhiskey," she added hopefully as an afterthought.

Brandy Randy beamed, but Orlando frowned and murmured, "Nothing's better than firewhiskey..."

"So what kind of plan is this?" Susan wondered aloud.

"I'll tell you after I set you all free and return your wands," Kim replied as she forward to Ron absent-mindedly and unlocked his shackles, making him fall with a thud and a skid.

"Ron!" Hermione cried.

"I'm fine, Hermione," Ron said feebly, head throbbing from being held upside-down for so long.

"_Guttosinch_" Kim said, pointing her wand at Ron and throwing his own wand at him.

"Hey! What'd you do?" Ron asked. "I feel better!"

"Yeah," Kim said absent-mindedly and released Hermione from her bonds and shoved her wand into her pocket. Ron and Hermione immediately jumped onto each other and began snogging, while Harry turned away and looked at the opposite wall.

"Ugh, get a room!" Ethan called.

Kim undid Brandy Randy's shackles and handed over his wand. She untied Neville, who got up and stretched then scratched his nose for several minutes, while Orlando was being released.

The moment he was set free, Orlando jumped on Kim and kissed both her cheeks, obviously overjoyed. Kim smiled at him as he stretched, "Thanks, Kim!"

"Yeah, don't mention it," she replied, before releasing Gabrielle and Serelina.

She undid Ginny's shackles and Ginny have her a hug, "I should have know better than to think you were a traitor!" She then continued over to her brother and Hermione and attempted to pull them apart from their tangle of bodies after receiving her wand.

Kim released Ethan and he shook her hand, gratefully. She released Lance, who gave her a huge hug and an overly warm handshake that nearly popped her arm out of the socket.

She rotated her arm a few times to pop it back into place and released Eric, who was the more outgoing brother, gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, Livingston," Kim said, stopping in front of James.

"Pettigrew," he acknowledged.

"Didn't expect me to be partly evil, did you?"

"Of course I did. Anyone who turns me down has some evil force controlling them," he replied. She set him free and he, too, began snogging her. She let him and he raised his eyebrows at her before trying to kiss her again. She pushed him away and headed in the opposite direction, remaining true to herself and completely unattached.

She walked over to Natalie, set her free and called, "Would someone please carry Natalie until we get out of here?"

"I'll do it!" Orlando volunteered sportily. Kim thanked him and continued on her way as Orlando slung the unconscious first-year over his broad shoulder.

She moved over to Luna, who was talking to Lance and began releasing her before returning her wand.

"I could always try to call the Crumple-Horned Snorkack," Lance said, thoughtfully.

Luna seemed to like Lance. "The Crumple-Horned Snorkack doesn't answer to humans, though, Lance..."

"I know they normally don't, but..."

She didn't really care about what Lance had to say about the mythical creatures, so she moved on.

Kim carefully reached into Michael's robes and pulled out the Blood-Flavored Lollipop before setting him free. He thanked her and Kim smiled at him and set Susan free as well as Fern.

Kim stopped in front of Harry, "I'm sorry if you still think I'm a traitor. They would have killed all of you if I hadn't played along. I need to talk to you about things regarding this escape."

"No, I don't think you're a traitor anymore," he replied, breathlessly as she removed his shackles. He stood up and stretched a bit. "What do you need to say?"

"It's about the plan," she said, while she set little Cindy free, who hugged her around the knees.

"You know," he said, thoughtfully, "maybe you shouldn't come with us, you might get discovered or hurt."

Kim giggled, "I'm flattered that your interests include my well being, Harry, but I'm quite able to take care of myself."

"You've been through a lot already," he frowned, "do you think it's best-"

"It doesn't matter what's best, Harry," she snapped. "The future doesn't really matter too much for me. Look what _you've_ been through, though! My future is already written in stone, so if I die, it'll just be better off for me. I personally would love to see the Dark Lord overthrown," she added as he frowned, "but I'm already set to marry Karl, have a few kids unwillingly but forced upon me, and die in battle with the Dark Lord. I just hope that I could do some good in my life before I go. Why do you think I joined the Order?"

Harry's frown was becoming more deeply etched into his face, "I don't know much about future, which you can check up on in my Divination exam results, but I don't think you're going to stay on that path unless you want to."

"Oh, really? What other future is there for me?" she wondered, raising an eyebrow.

Harry stared at her, not in a rude way, but in a thoughtful way. A sense of foreboding rushed through her body as well as a shock of thrill and completeness as he began to kiss her smoothly, placing his hands around her waist.

She didn't know how long she'd been kissing Harry before she pulled away and looked at him oddly, realizing that her arms were around his neck. She quickly pulled them away and fidgeted.

"Think about it," he said softly, "you wouldn't have to follow that path at all. Just think about it."

"I am thinking about it," she replied, staring into his emerald green eyes and wondering...


	15. Sneaking Around

"Listen up everybody!" Kim shouted. Everyone stopped what they were doing. "All right, before my dear Draco gets a sense of his eyes and ears and begins re-growing his bones and muscles, I'd like to explain to you why you're REALLY here." Everyone looked at her eagerly besides Cindy, who was tying her shoe. "You've been brought here because most of you have family members or friends in the Order of the Phoenix. The reason you were taken is not that simple, I'm afraid. The Dark Lord is gotten his grasp upon a legendary torch known as the Green Flame Torch."

"My sister had a book with that legend in it," Lance interrupted, "some weird torch made of green flames that changes love into hate?"

"Right," Kim replied. "Like Lance said, this torch changes love into hate. It's the Dark Lord's wish to first use this power on the Order's members in exchange for your lives."

There was a little muttering and Cindy began to sob again. Harry, who was closest, bent down and tried to comfort her slightly - a sight that Ron seemed slightly shocked by - and Kim vaguely realized that he was very good with kids. She wondered what it would be like to have a family with him. Then she caught a grip on herself. _He only kissed you as a thank-you for setting him free,_ she chided herself, _get a grip on yourself. You're going to live in a big, fancy, stuffy old house with too many rooms and live with Karl, who will demand to have his arousal pleasured every waking moment for the rest of your life._

"Why do they need all of us, then?" Ron asked, one arm around Hermione, who looked pleased that she was free and with Ron.

"Because they're not taking any chances," Kim replied hastily. "They figured that the Order members might want a better reason than just one child, who might possibly escape or die, to fulfill the Dark Lord's plans."

"What exactly are his plans?" Ginny spoke up.

"I can't tell you," Kim answered. "All I have to say, is that Green Flame Torch must be taken before we leave, but even touching the handle will make you hate."

The puddle that was Draco began to bubble a little bit.

"_Obliviate_!" Kim said, pointing her wand at the oozing mass. "Draco is regaining his senses. What I want all of you to do," she turned to the group of nineteen people there, "is to scatter. Keep close to Cindy, Gabrielle, and Serelina-"

"I am _not_ a little child," Serelina interrupted angrily and pursed her lips.

"No, you're right, you're not," Kim agreed, but then pointed out, "but the three of you will be running out there against a bunch of full-grown Death Eaters, trained by the Dark Lord, himself, _without wands_."

Serelina looked at her feet and muttered something about being too young to do anything important.

"Anyway," Kim continued, "Nassandra has agreed to help us out. She'll be causing the distraction and once it's caused, you'll have to run for it. Try to stay away from windows, because you need to go as far into the center of the castle as possible. There's a small portal that looks like a hologram hidden in the very center of the castle. That's how we Death Eaters get around the world. You simply say where you want to go and it will appear in front of you. You must get the Green Flame Torch first. _Under no circumstances are you to touch this torch_: use the levitating spell. No one touches it, am I clear? One of you will go to Hogsmeade and go straight up to the castle to deliver the torch to Dumbledore. Warn him what its powers are and why he must not touch it. The rest of you will be going back to Grimmauld Place, where you'll be safe."

"What will you be doing and how are we supposed to get the torch if we're running around the castle?" Ethan spoke up.

"You all need to find a hiding place where you think the Death Eaters won't look for you. Go through the hidden entrance," she rammed into the side of the wall and a passage opened, but the moment she stopped applying pressure to it, it slid shut again. They won't think to look for you that way. I'll change Draco back to normal and pretend one of you got loose and hexed me. Once he's off looking for you to save his reputation, I'll give three clicks," she clicked her tongue three times and you can give me a sign of where you are, if there's two, don't move and shut up. I'll deal with the snakes. Questions?"

Three hands rose into the air.

"Lance?"

"Can I call for outside help? I know a Crumple-Horned Snorkack who can-"

"No. Orlando?"

"What if Natalie wakes up and turns into a werewolf?" he asked, giving the girl on his shoulder a wary glance.

"If she remains stunned, she should be fine. Harry?"

"How are you supposed to take on that snake by yourself? Voldemort's got a huge one that'll kill instantly," he demanded frowning.

"You'll be seeing later," Kim answered with a secretive smile.

"But-!" Harry began, but he was cut short by a loud, echoing bang that ricocheted through the entire castle and made them all clamp their hands over their ears.

"That's the signal!" she cried, hitting against the wall and opening the door, which she ushered them through. "Keep Natalie out of the moonlit windows!" she called after them. Then she turned to Draco, "_Obliviate! Jinttericita!"_

Draco returned to his normal state, clutching his head. Kim sprang to the floor and acted as though she'd been stunned.

Draco stood clutching his head for a moment before looking around at the empty room. "Damn!" he cursed, "_Ennervate!_"

Kim pretended to wake up with a headache.

"What in bloody fucking hell happened?" he exclaimed.

"I..." Kim began. "I was just using the counter-jinx on you... ow, er... I saw someone... I can't remember who... They stunned me! They were free the whole time and snuck over while my back was turned and stole their wand!"

"Damn!" Draco repeated and muttered a stream of swears and curses. Kim was surprised at how easily he bought it. "Come on! They probably escaped through the door!" He scooted around Nassandra's still-full cauldron of sickly-looking soup and ran for the door, wand held out in front of him.

"I'm coming!" she exclaimed and ran after him, bolting through the door and skidding down the eerie stone hallway.

Kim watched Draco come to the split in the halls, "You go right, I'll go left!"

Kim agreed, as she'd sent them to the right. She began softly clicking her tongue three times after checking that the coast was clear. A sudden movement occurred in front of her and she realized that the wall was moving! She scooted away, but then realized that it was Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ethan, Eric, Serelina, and Ginny in well-done Disillusionment Charms.

"Where do we go from here?" Ginny breathed.

"We go down as many stairs as we can. If you see a silvery gas in the air, avoid it at all costs, as it will set off an alarm if it doesn't recognize a Death Eater's mark on at least one of you. Come on, follow me for now."

She walked swiftly along, with the others following. She heard a noise up ahead and made a quick motion for them to hide in the shadows again. She began pacing.

Then, the very last person she wanted to see in a dark hallway, all alone (or _supposedly_ alone), came around the bend: Karl.

He stopped in his tracks and stared at her. Kim realized that he couldn't see her friends simply because it was dark and because he wasn't looking for them. Kim, however, could see Harry's glasses if she looked closely enough.

"Ah," he said with a wicked smirk, "Kimberly... just the person I wanted to see..."

"And why did you want to see me, Karl?" Kim wondered, hoping her voice didn't sound as weak as she felt right now. She saw Harry's eyes snap to look at Karl.

Karl looked particularly greasy tonight with his black hair slicked back, much in the way Draco did his. He looked at her like a wolf who had just scented a wounded rabbit and smirked wider. "You've been avoiding me."

"That's right," she snapped back. "I can't tell you how much I loathe you, Karl. I wish you would drop dead."

"I know," he said in his deep voice, "that's why I like you, Kimberly – feisty. Yes, but you'll crack eventually. You almost did around Christmas, I could tell. No, you and I _will_ be engaged and very soon. So soon, in fact, I can almost taste it..."

"You're crazy, Karl," Kim replied. Her voice had gone weak. This was not the time to have to be dealing with Karl.

He had a look of triumph on his face. "You're cracking right now. I can feel it. Come here, Kimberly." Kim took a step back and gripped her wand tightly. "You can't run away from me..."

"Shut _up_, Karl," Kim tried to order, but took another step back. He was peeved about something and he wanted to take it out on her! She had to get away!

"Come on now," he said in a deadly whisper, "that's no way to treat your future husband."

"Eat dirt," Kim spat, then tried to take another step back.

"Why should I do that?" he said softly. "Just give in to me. You know you can't resist."

"I can resist you for as long as I feel want to and that want will be held for the rest of my miserable life," she replied.

"No, I'm afraid not, Kimberly. This is my night... or should I say... _our_ night." He said silkily as his eyes scanned over her body.

Kim whimpered. For the first time, Karl was in control. She hadn't understood why, but there was no dissuading him now.

"That's right. No one to stop me now, is there?"

"Fine! Listen to me, Karl, and listen to me good," she took a step toward him and tried to stand up straight and not go weak-kneed. "I'll agree to spending the nights with you whenever I'm here as long as you let me alone for tonight."

Karl smirked, "Oh, no, no, no. How thoughtful of you to offer yourself. But like I said, Kimberly, I'm not taking 'no' for an answer. You've held me off for too long. I want you, _now_..."

Kim began to whimper. Her entire body was shaking. She did not want this, especially now.

"_Accio_," Karl murmured smoothly and Kim tried to grab for something before she was pulled over to him. "Now... I'll show you why I'm in control. I promise it's something you won't forget..." He started dragging her down the stone hallway, while she kicked and punched and struggled, trying to aim for his groin.

"_Petrificus Totalus!_" someone cried from behind Karl, who had his arms wrapped tightly around Kim's lower abdomen so she couldn't escape.

He fell to the ground in the Full-Body Bind. Kim looked up at her savior: Harry, who was breathing rather hard and looking very angry.

"_Lortiscorcious_," Kim muttered under her breath. Karl's eyes flipped over and he seemed to be having some sort of seizure.

Hermione and Serelina, whom Kim had expected to tell her to remove the curse, were silent and staring at Kim with pity and horror at the scene they'd witnessed. There was a moment's silence where Kim shuffled her feet a bit and everyone stared at her.

"Thanks, Harry," she said finally. "Shall we move on?"

"Kim," Ginny said, carefully choosing her words, "is he... always like that?"

Harry twitched slightly when he glanced at Karl, who was quite still and was now foaming at the mouth slightly.

"Let's get out of here," Kim murmured, ignoring Ginny. She stowed Karl in a room a little farther down the hallway. They walked along in silence.

Another loud bang that made them cover their ears echoed around the castle and Nassandra was seen flying along the passage, her messy green hair bouncing. She bumped into Kim and said, "Was that a good enough diversion?"

"Yeah," Kim said in a downcast voice. "It was really good. What did you do?"

Nassandra chuckled, "I let the kids have the knives in the kitchen, but they almost began stabbing each other. So I lent them the Dark Lord's wand-"

"You gave them _his_ wand?" Ron piped up, unable to control his voice.

Nassandra looked wildly around and realized they were under the Disillusionment Charm and smiled, "Exactly. They've still got it, but who knows _what_ they're up to. Last thing I saw, they were sending the Cruciatus Curse after Macnair." She sighed, "They've got such bad influences here." She turned to Kim. "Do you think there's some way you could get Zute and Zilch out of here? You could give them up for adoption, as long as it's with a wizarding family, for all I care. They don't need this."

"I'll think about it," Kim replied.

"Did Karl come after you?" Nassandra said suddenly frowning. "He was in a foul mood because the Dark Lord gave Draco permission to marry Pansy and, well, he got a bit... restless... well you know how he gets, right?"

"Yeah, I know. He's foaming at the mouth in a spare room back there," she replied, then changed the subject, "look, we really have to go. You can come if you want, but it's dangerous-"

"Danger? Ha! Count me in!" Another boom echoed about the castle. "Actually," she said, frowning, "I'll go in the room with Karl. I'll make it look like... you know... that way the kids can keep on distracting..." She hurried off.

"Wait a sec!" Kim called after her.

She stopped, "Yeah?"

"Where'd you let those kids loose?"

"Ninth floor. They shouldn't bother you."

"One last thing..."

"Yeah?"

"Did you happen to see anyone who was one of the students we kidnapped wandering around?"

"Er, now that you mention it..."

"Yes?" Kim asked eagerly.

"I saw four kids, two boys and two girls, wandering around the third floor in the East Wing."

"What did they look like?" Kim said quickly.

"One if the boys was rather clumsy and round-faced, the other was a bit weedy-looking and mousy-haired. They were in mostly shadow, though, so I didn't get too good of a look..."

"Neville and Lance," Kim muttered. "What about the girls?"

"One was named Susie or Susan or something, and the other was Luna."

"Luna, and Susan," Kim added to her list. "Did they see you?"

"No, I was a bit busy," Nassandra replied and headed off to the room containing Karl.

Kim turned to her companions, "We know that they've made it pretty well down, then. So we're still looking for James, Cindy, Fern, Orlando, Natalie, Michael, Brandy Randy, and Gabrielle." She clicked her tongue three times. No one emerged. She motioned for them to follow and clicked her tongue a little more, until a broom closet door opened and two eyes peeked out.

"Kim," Orlando cried exasperatedly and flinging himself out of the closet, towing Natalie behind him. Fern followed him. "_So_ glad we found you. We were with the others, but then we got separated!"

"Calm down," Kim said swiftly. "Hermione, can you please Disillusion these three for me?"

Hermione nodded and moved forward, startling Orlando and Fern for the moment, before performing the charm.

"Where did you loose them?" Kim asked Orlando as he blended in against the wall.

"A little ways ahead. When we'd found that they weren't with us, we just stopped and hid in the closet," he replied.

"All right, now shut your trap for now and somebody tell Fern the same."

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

They traveled on in silence. It wasn't until they heard shouting that Kim cursed and leapt out of the way as a Death Eater named Potley came barreling around the corner swearing and yelling.

"Stupid kids! Oh, master will have to listen to someone! Hopefully he'll kill those stupid children and be gone with them! Why she keeps them, I don't know..."

He ranted all the way down another corridor and didn't give Kim a second glance. They continued on, with Kim clicking her tongue a few times.

Finally, Kim spotted the back of Luna's head and clicked loudly. The group of four turned around and headed swiftly over. Hermione performed the charm once more.

They continued on until they reached a very welcoming person at the moment: Snape.

"Snape," Kim whispered, almost desperately and looking around to make sure he was alone.

"What do you want, Pettigrew?" he said greasily.

"I've got fourteen people around my age behind me and we need to get out of here," she replied. "We're still looking for the other five. If you see James Livingston, Michael Chatfeild (they're both Gryffindors, you know them), Randy Fletcher (he's a Ravenclaw), or a little five-year-old girl, and a girl with long, silvery-blonde hair, they're captives. We're trying to get to the portal. They're the only ones not found."

Snape looked behind her with a look of urgency on his face that she'd not seen him wear before. "The portal has been closed."

Kim stood as still as a statue, not daring to believe it. "W-What...?"

"There are several Order members that have come inside. They've found the group of five you're talking about and they're safe. Shacklebolt took off with them to the Headquarters. There are seven of them upstairs on the top floor."

"What about the torch, sir?" she asked desperately.

"Still in the Dark Lord's hands," he answered curtly. "The problem _now_ is the Order members waiting upstairs for your return to them in exchange for use of the torch upon them. I want you to get up there using the secret passages. There's one around here behind a statue, I believe. I'll go head the others off."

He rushed off in the direction that they'd come in.

"Kim, what's going on?" Orlando asked.

"Keep quiet for just a moment longer," she whispered and began tapping the walls. Finally, she came to a statue of a snake about to strike on some unseen prey and pulled its head. Nothing happened. She pulled its fangs. Nothing happened. She tapped the wall behind it with the same result. Finally, she twisted the tail and the statue sprang aside, revealing a crawlspace only big enough for someone to get through on their hands and knees before entering a large room and many staircases.

"Come on," she whispered and ushered them inside. A Death Eater named Neilcuber stomped by when Ethan, Neville, Harry, and Luna weren't inside yet. Kim quickly told them to press themselves against the wall and then slouched on the part of the wall where the opening was.

Neilcuber stopped in front of her, "Why aren't you upstairs?"

Kim shrugged, "Should I be?"

"Yes," he hissed in replied, although looking at her with an odd expression. "You're the higher-rank, aren't you?"

"Any problems with that?" she asked coolly.

His eyes narrowed but he slouched on without glancing over his shoulder. Kim exhaled heavily in relief once his footsteps died away and hurried Ethan through the little space, who was followed by Luna, Neville, and then Harry. Finally, she tapped the snake's tail tip back into place and jumped inside just in time before it closed.


	16. An Attempt at Recovery

It was pitch black inside the large room.

"_Lumos_," Kim murmured and lit her wand. Everyone copied her except for Serelina, who didn't have a wand.

"Let's go," Kim said, choosing the path that rose up to the top of the castle. They all lined up behind her and followed her higher and higher and higher and higher, still. Finally, they all reached the very top and came to a large stone wall. A Dead End.

"Oh, great, _now_ what do we do?" Susan asked hopelessly and sat down on the stairs where she sat.

Lance, who was at the very back of the line, yelled, "Oi! What's going on up there?"

"We met a solid wall," Ginny replied glumly, also sitting on the stairs with her face in her hands.

"We'll be locked in here forever!" Neville said shakily, fearing the worst.

"No, of course we won't," Kim scoffed. "There's probably a way to make this wall move or something..."

She began pressing her body against the wall, but it didn't budge. She tried several more times in vain, but gave up after fifteen minutes and slouched down onto the stair, herself, burying her face into her knees, which she held close to her body.

"You tried at least. Maybe there's another way out," Orlando said hopefully.

"It's no use," Kim replied sadly. "Everything I do always goes wrong!" she shouting, banging a fist against the wall and hitting something pointy. The contact with her hand and the pointy object made the wall slide open a crack, revealing a tiny sliver of light.

"Hey! I see light!" Eric cried happily.

"Shhh," Kim hushed and began playing with the pointy object a bit more. The wall slid open a bit farther. "Okay, everyone file through, after I go check to see what's out there.

She slid through the opening and found herself on the very top level - the eleventh floor. It was completely deserted in the corridor that she had entered, but she could hear voices and the familiar high-pitched cackle of Voldemort in what seemed like only one room over.

"Stay where you are, I don't think it's safe," Kim whispered into the space in the wall. "I'll be right back. Close the door for a moment."

The wall slid back and she practically tiptoed down one corridor and into a room where she heard some voices. She peeked through and saw the Dark Lord, himself, watching seven members of the Order of the Phoenix battle with his Death Eaters. She saw Moody, Fleur Delacour, Mr. Weasley, Tonks, Emmeline Vance, a man she did not recognize, and Ginny's eldest brother, Bill. They were battling relentlessly against a group of ten Death Eaters. Moody spotted her with his magical eye and clubbed the Death Eater he was fighting long enough to give the simple message of '_UNAUTHORIZED PORTKEY!'_ without uttering so much as a sound.

She slipped away and ripped off a piece of her cloak. Only four people maximum could go on one Portkey like the ones she could make. She had made Portkeys on occasion before, but sometimes the users turned up in a place she'd been previously thinking about, or a couple hundred feet away from their intended destination. Anywhere would be better than here, though. She murmured "_Portus_" under her breath and hurried quickly over to the hidden passage, realizing that if the Ministry could track her, she'd be expelled for sure, or possibly worse...

Down it, she yelled through the crack, "Lance, Ethan, and Eric get up here quickly, and bring Natalie!"

The four she'd called for rushed forward as best they could in the cramped space.

"Grab onto this, it's a Portkey," she rushed. "It'll take you to Grimmauld Place. I want you three to leave Natalie in the woods nearby and stupefy her again, understand? Good. It should be leaving any second..."

With a whoosh, she suddenly felt them leave and hoped that they ended up where they should. She ripped off another piece of cloak and again whispered, "_Portus_." She turned wildly, "Fern, Susan, Serelina, Orlando, you four'll take this one. Everyone get out here now!"

The four rushed out first and had barely grabbed onto it before they were whisked away. The other six of her friends also filed out, their Disillusionment Charm had worn off.

"_Portus_. Come on Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna!"

They waited several seconds before they were whisked off and Kim had ripped the last bit of cloak apart and revealed her robes, which had the sleeves torn off. This exposed the Dark Mark on her arm. She glanced that the last two people there: Harry and Hermione.

"_Portus._ Come on Harry, Hermione."

"I'm not leaving you here," Harry said as Hermione gripped the cloak. Before Kim could persuade Harry to grab it, Hermione disappeared.

"Oh, look what you've done now, Harry! I've got no more cloak left!"

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you're not! You can't get killed. It won't matter if I go in there, because I'm a Death Eater, you dolt!" She sighed, "You'll have to use my necklace."

She fumbled with the chain of a small necklace that she wore and began to persuade him to use it.

"You're taking it!" she said dangerously. "I can't leave. If I do, then they'll get suspicious. Go! Come on!"

"But, I-"

"No. I don't care! You need to leave! _Portus_."

"But, I needed to say-"

"Harry, you need to leave," she sighed rationally and running her hands through her hair. She shoved the necklace into his hands.

"Fine. But there's something I need to say."

"WHAT?" she cried exasperatedly.

His expression softened, "I wanted you to know that I think I lo-"

With a small whooshing noise, he was gone before he could finish his sentence. Kim shook her head, wondering what he'd been planning on saying. Perhaps he's lost something. It didn't matter.

She scurried into the room.

"Pettigrew!" Voldemort hissed at her. "Where have you been?" He was holding the torch in his hand and seemed to be enjoying the hate that rushed through his body. There had been no love... ever.

"Looking for the escaped captives," she said loudly, so Moody could hear her. "The last thing I saw, there were four left and they all disappeared very suddenly, holding a cloak."

Voldemort uttered swears, hexes, curses, and jinxes all in a jumble before his wand obeyed and spewed out a bad mixture of evil spells at one of his own Death Eaters. Moody's eyes rolled out of its socket and stopped near Kim's feet. She kicked it lightly back to its owner.

With a satisfied look, Emmeline Vance Disapparated, having heard Kim. The man Kim didn't recognize followed in suit before Fleur and Bill followed. Tonks followed and so did Mr. Weasley. Moody used his wand to bring the torch to him and shoved it roughly into his pocket, while his cloak caught flame and Disapparated.

"NOOOOO!" Voldemort yelled. He turned to Kim, "You shouldn't say things so loudly! _Crucio_!"

Kim endured the white-hot pain that she'd been through when she was younger. It stabbed at her like knives and seared through her body like a consuming flame. She screamed. She screamed so loudly, she was surprised that the castle didn't crumble down from the noise.

Then the curse stopped and she lay in a heap on the floor, too weak to do anything. She felt herself being slung over someone's shoulder roughly and carried away. Her head flopped around and she opened her eyes slowly. Her father was carrying her. _But to where_? she wondered. She also began to wonder why she hadn't gone insane from a long exposure to the curse. Her explanation was that she was partly used to it. Down another flight and halfway along another corridor, her father stopped and her head lolled around.

"I can take her from you now, Wormtail."

It was Karl. Kim felt her father hesitate, but then she felt herself being slung over Karl's shoulder and he walked on, bouncing her unnecessarily.

_No, no, no! Dad! Come back! Don't leave me with him!_ She wanted to call after her father, but she was too weak. She felt like a nothing. She felt as though she'd been betrayed, but couldn't do a thing about it. No, she'd rather have died than have to deal with Karl after a quarter of an hour with the Cruciatus Curse.

"I know you're conscious, Kimberly," she said softly as he carried her down a flight of stairs.

Kim groaned in her pain, hoping that somehow, Karl's thick head would convince himself to leave her alone right now.

"Ah, yes, so you _can_ hear me," he said silkily. "I know that little trick you played on me. Yes, yes, it was very clever... very clever of you. It won't work this time, though, oh, no, no, no... This time, you're already too tired to resist. I saw you cracking back there. You were almost ripe for the picking. Now, though..." he laughed softly, "now's the time, Kimberly. It'll be a long night, I can promise you that..." He began to laugh. Kim began to feel sick and almost puked all down his back just trying to Disapparate without any strength.

Karl stopped abruptly, then turned the knob of a door. Just before he entered the room, Kim caught sight of Nassandra shaking her head sadly and trying to stop her lip from bleeding.

Then the door closed behind her and Kim was shoved roughly onto something soft. A bed. She began to cower in fear, realizing what was at stake now.

Karl locked the door and threw the room into blackness. She was helpless; Karl was in control. His spindly fingers were cold against her sweating skin. His naked body pressing against hers caused her to writhe in mental agony…

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

She Disapparated back to school the next day as evening fell, limping up the path from Hogsmeade into the castle. She was met at the doors by none other than Professor Dumbledore, himself. He looked her up and down, taking in the bloody gash on her leg, her black eye that was swollen shut, bloody nose, and torn robes.

"I think," he said gravely, "it is time for you to go up to the Hospital Wing, Ms. Pettigrew."

He accompanied her up to the Hospital Wing and asked Madame Pomfrey not to ask questions, of which Kim was grateful. When the nurse got her first look at her, however, she gasped and rushed her over to a bed next to a very familiar-looking someone.

"I don't think it's very serious, Headmaster," the nurse said worriedly a little ways away, "it looks worse than it is. I'll just need some new robes for her, but I can fix that limp and that broken nose."

"I know, Poppy," Dumbledore replied. "She'll be better in a few hours. She needs sleep, but I'll expect her to return to her Dormitory whenever she feels she wants to."

"Yes, Headmaster," the nurse said as Dumbledore left. She bustled over to Kim and began cleaning her cuts with a stinging potion. Kim didn't flinch, as most would have. The nurse looked at her sadly, and flicked her wand at Kim's cuts. They mended instantly but Kim just lay there for awhile, not moving.

It was long after the nurse had moved away that the someone next to Kim spoke in a very familiar voice. He said, "What _happened_?"

Kim turned to the boy next to her and looked. It was Lance Vance.

"I didn't know you came to Hogwarts," Kim said dully.

"Yeah, I'm a fourth-year Hufflepuff," he replied. "So what _did_ happen after we were whisked off?"

"Everyone left and Moody took the torch. It was a lot simpler than I would've expected." Kim didn't really want to divulge the reason that she'd come in all scratched and beat-up. Madame Pomfrey couldn't get rid of the bruises: she still had a rather dark black eye and thumb-print bruises everywhere.

"No, I mean, why're you all beat-up and bruised?" Lance wondered.

"I'm rather tired, Lance. I think I'm going to go to sleep, all right?" she said with a sigh. It was true, she'd spent the whole of the previous night trying to fend off Karl after he'd tossed her wand in the corner. They'd gotten into a meager fist fight, which was unfair, since Kim had been physically and emotionally unstable.

"I just want to know, Kim," Lance said quietly, looking at her in a serious way.

"It's a bit personal, Lance, I'm sorry," replied Kim with another long sigh at the painful memory when she'd given up warding off Karl and he'd finally gotten what he had wanted.

"Oh," Lance's expression darkened, "the Barkley twins told me about that."

Kim's expression didn't change, but she made a mental note to make Ethan and Eric suffer if they'd told anyone else.

"I was put under the Cruciatus Curse," Kim said vaguely, staring out the window.

"But-" Lance said, surprised, "Doesn't You-Know-Who think you're on his side, still?"

"Yeah, but I failed him," Kim replied weakly and turning over to look at Lance. He looked worried. "You know, Lance, you're a nice person to talk to."

"Yeah, that's what Luna said," Lance replied. He was glowing happily and blushing as Luna's name popped up into the conversation.

Kim looked at the ceiling. She knew what _that _smile meant - Lance liked Luna. They seemed all right for each other, too, with those talks about the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and such. She got a comical image of Lance and Luna in twenty years: they were married and both ran _The Quibbler_ together with two kids running around and jabbering about heliopaths while wearing kilts and togas and orange radishes for earrings. She giggled very slightly and Lance looked at her questioningly.

"Nothing," Kim muttered.

Lance was silent for a moment before he finally spoke something that was on his mind: "When you saw the Order members there, did you see my Mum there at all?"

"Yeah, she was fighting off two Death Eaters... why?"

"I was just wondering," Lance answered thoughtfully. "With twelve sisters, Mum doesn't have much time for me. In fact, sometimes I think she forgets I'm there."

"No, she doesn't, Lance," Kim replied firmly.

"I should probably feel lucky: your Mum probably isn't allowed to show she loves you, right? Being a Death Eater?" Lance looked at her for an answer.

Kim said nothing, but pursed her lips into a straight line. Finally she answered, "My mother died... a long time ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lance said quickly, looking as though he'd like to slap himself.

"It's late, Lance, we need to sleep." Kim turned over and faced the window again, willing sleep to overcome her mind.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Kim awoke the next morning bright and early and Lance was still snoring. She got out of bed and willed herself to walk around a bit. She looked in the mirror, however, and nearly screamed at the tangle that was her hair and the black eye that made her look like a pirate with an eye patch. She glanced at her arms and cursed as she spotted the thumbprint bruises that Karl had left.

"Do you want to go back to your Dormitory, dear?" Madame Pomfrey asked, walking into the room with a tray of breakfast for her and one for Lance.

Kim nodded and then wondered why Lance was here in the first place.

"Why don't you eat breakfast first?" the nurse said, "and Miss Weasley dropped off your robes."

"Thank you," Kim replied and sat down to eat breakfast. She shoveled it down and dressed quickly into her robes all before Lance woke up. "Morning," she greeted and began brushing her hair with the brush Ginny had brought.

Lance looked sleepily around. Then he spotted his breakfast, his face lit up, and he began to stuff his face full of pancakes.

"Hungry?" Kim asked, raising her eyebrows.

Lance nodded, face full of porridge. "Starved," he replied when he'd swallowed.

"Why are you here, anyway?" she asked.

"Er, well, I had fainted because Natalie transformed… she was still out of it, but transformed, anyway. Did you know that your Portkey sent us to Hogwarts instead of the Headquarters?"

"Oh, no!" Kim moaned.

"It's okay," Lance replied. The group after us went back to Hogwarts, too, and so did Hermione. Harry, Ron, Luna, Neville, and Ginny all ended up in Grimmauld Place, though. From what I heard, they came back last night and Natalie's currently lost in the Forbidden Forest. Serelina and that Fern girl got shipped off to the Headquarters with Moody when he took the other five here."

"Oh, good," Kim sighed and sat on her bed, making sure her hair was smooth and shining.

Lance eyed her, "You went through more than I did - a lot more. Are you going to be okay?"

Kim sighed, "I'm never going to be okay, Lance. I'm going to have to go back to that place over summer. While I'm there, I'll be punished some more, and if I don't die, I'll be forced to-" She choked, but refused to cry. She managed the word, "Karl."

Lance looked at his empty food tray sadly. "I know. I'm sorry, Kim. Maybe you could ask Dumbledore if you could come to the Headquarters for summer?"

"No, I have a job and that's to spy. So spy, I will, Lance," she replied firmly. "I hope you have a lovely day and I hope you feel better and I'll see you soon." She got up and walked out of the Hospital Wing, telling Madame Pomfrey that she was leaving and headed to Gryffindor Tower, trying to keep her face down, so no one would see her black eye.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

She met very few people that early in the morning and whispered the password so dejectedly ("Ceretonia"), that the Fat Lady asked her what was the matter.

Instead of answering, Kim just walked inside and closed the Portrait Hole behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that Harry, Ron, and Hermione occupied the Common Room.

"Hey, Kim, come here a moment," Hermione invited.

Kim kept looking at her feet and sat down so no one would notice her black eye.

"Do you mind telling us what happened last night after we left?" Ron asked curiously.

Kim stared at her feet, and whispered in a dejected voice, as she remembered last night's events, "Well you three left and I told the Dark Lord so in a loud voice, so Moody summoned the torch and caught fire of himself before Disapparating with the others. Is he all right?"

"Yeah, the torch's power didn't get him: he didn't even touch the handle. He did have a really burnt cloak afterwards, though," Ron replied with a bit of a laugh.

"How did Voldemort react?" Harry asked, worried at her lack of expression.

Kim cringed and twitched once, but not at the name, "He wasn't happy."

"What did he do to you?" Harry asked at once.

"Cruciatus Curse," Kim murmured and stared more closely at the floor.

"He _didn't_!" Hermione gasped.

"Why are you hiding your face from us? We're not angry at you or afraid of you and there's no reason for you to be afraid of us," Ron wondered.

Kim raised her head slowly and pitifully.

"Woah! That didn't come from any Cruciatus Curse," Ron gasped.

Kim simply looked at him with an expression that made him know that he had just stated the obvious. Without another word, she walked up to her dormitory and went to bed.


	17. Harry & Kim

That day was the Quidditch Match that would decide who would win the Cup. Everyone looked anxious, but looking around, Kim realized that, had she and the group of students taken to the castle not gotten back yet, Evan Youngblood would've been the only player on the team.

"So," James concluded his and Kim's silence as they walked to the Locker Rooms. "Big game today."

"I suppose," Kim replied, personally not keen on playing today, as there was all the chance that she might get another black eye whilst dealing with Bludgers.

"What's got you all depressed?" he asked, tracing the wall's stones as they walked along the hall.

"Nothing really. I suppose I'm a bit concerned about getting another black eye," replied Kim, laughing dejectedly. She'd only changed emotions twice since she'd gotten back: once when she was talking to Lance, and once when she'd walked in on Ron and Hermione snogging as if there were no tomorrow and Harry not too far away, trying to do his homework and looking disgruntled.

James laughed a bit, "Why d'you have that in the first place? It's quite the shiner."

"I got in a fight," she muttered.

"Woah! A real fist fight? Like Muggle dueling?" his eyes seemed to light up. "Did you win?"

"No," Kim replied, cringing.

"Oh," his face darkened, "sorry." There was more silence. "Look," he said exasperatedly, "I think we should put all of our differences behind us at least for the game. You know – so we can work together." He looked slightly hopeful.

Kim smiled slightly, the first slight improvement since she'd talked to Lance last night. They'd reached the Locker Rooms now.

"Sure," she replied.

"Friends?" he asked, holding out a hand to her.

She looked at his hand and then took it. "Friends," she agreed and shook his hand.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"And it's Gryffindor versus Slytherin in the final match of the season, battling over the Cup," Harold Azaka shouted into the magically magnified microphone. "The Quaffle is released... taken into possession immediately by Evan Youngblood of Gryffindor... Youngblood to Weasley, Weasley to Youngblood, Youngblood to Gardner, and he scores against the Keeper! 10 - 0, Gryffindor!

"Slytherin in possession of the Quaffle. Nott to Zabini, Zabini to Lashapell, Lashapell... OH! Nice Bludger work by the Gryffindor Beaters! …And it's stolen by Gryffindor! Weasley takes it... she scores! 20 - 0 Gryffindor!"

The game raged on. Over suddenly becoming friends with James, Kim felt herself being able to work with him much more easily.

While Harry flew around in search of the Snitch, Malfoy got a maniac glint in his eye and saw the Snitch, instead.

"And Malfoy looks as though he's found the Snitch!"

Kim looked over. There was a golden blur in front of Malfoy's outstretched arm... Harry would never catch up in time.

"OH! Nice Bludger hit at Malfoy by Barkley of Gryffindor! Is he going to be all right? He looks out cold! It's fair, however, as my favorite Professor has informed me," Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes behind him "and the Snitch has disappeared again! Quaffle in Slytherin possession, Lashapell to Nott, Nott to Lashapell, Lashapell back to Nott, again... and they score! 60-50 Gryffindor."

Suddenly, Harry dove. Kim finished sending a Bludger over in Goyle's direction to watch. Harry captured the Snitch with amazing ease, now that Malfoy had gone. He held it above his head triumphantly and landed with great gusto as he was lifted onto the shoulders of the Gryffindor supporters. Kim leaned on her broomstick with her head on her elbow to watch him smiling, still holding the struggling Snitch and yelling and grinning with the rest. The Slytherins brushed past angrily and muttering amongst themselves as Kim watched her teammates rush over to accept the Quidditch Cup. She looked at Harry's grinning face and she smiled her first real smile. Ever.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The O.W.L. exams were over. Kim felt as though she'd passed everything but Divination. She wasn't really worried about it.

However, she was worried about the Summer Holidays and wondered nervously whether she'd be forced to give in to Karl several more times over the summer. Then a sickeningly horrible thought struck her and she wondered if she might get pregnant. She decided that she'd simply have to avoid Karl at all costs and shook her head sadly, thinking of poor Nassandra, who'd gotten pregnant at thirteen.

Upon a happier note, as she'd finished packing and was sitting in the Common Room reading her newest book that Professor Sprout had kindly given her, _How to become an expert Healer_, Harry sat down next to her without saying a thing. Kim did not acknowledge his presence at the moment and continued reading four more pages until she realized that he was staring at her.

"What? Did my black eye come back?" she asked, rubbing the eye on which her shiner had once been.

"No," Harry replied slowly.

"Well, what, then?" she wondered, "Do you want to know where Ron or Hermione went? Because I wouldn't go into your Dormitory if I were you... the last time I saw, Neville had gone up there and came back down looking as though he'd walked in on something important-"

"No," Harry replied, still gazing at her.

She blinked, "WHAT, then?"

He continued to stare. Then, finally, "Do you remember at the castle how I wanted to tell you something before I disappeared?"

"Yes," Kim answered slowly. "What were you going to say?"

"I wanted to say," he paused, "that I think that I... love you..."

Those words trailed off into nothingness while Kim just stared back at him for the longest time.

"Y-You... what?" Kim repeated, but she was sure that she'd heard him correctly.

"I love you, Kim. Plain and simple," he repeated, watching her reaction.

She watched him a moment longer. Was it just her, or was he getting closer? Yes, he definitely was. He didn't seem to be joking... what was going on? Why was everything falling to quickly out of her original routine?

Kim quit thinking after a moment and whispered, "I love you, too, Harry."

Harry looked slightly taken aback, but didn't waste any time before kissing her. It was much the same as the kiss he'd given her before, but this time, Kim thought she knew it was a real kiss. It wasn't a thank-you from Orlando, a kiss to prove that he could get anyone from James, or a strange kiss that somehow didn't feel quite right from Terry... this was real. And Kim enjoyed it.

She wasn't sure how long exactly they'd been kissing, but a loud noise like someone clearing their throat was made and they stopped, Kim remembering that they were in the Common Room and then found with much surprise that Harry was practically on top of her. Then she saw Ron and Hermione looking at them with grins.

Kim blushed and tried to get up, but Harry was frozen stiff.

"Er, Sorry," he muttered and got up. "I guess I got a bit carried away..."

But Kim didn't think this was true at all. To prove that she felt this way, she leaned over and began kissing him again, not caring that Ron and Hermione were both staring. This felt great. She didn't want it to end. She wanted to go to the Order for the summer and stay there with Harry.

_But I can't_, she realized bitterly. _I've got to spend the summer with Karl._

Ron and Hermione seemed to have left in sheer amazement when the kissing broke apart the next time. Harry's emerald eyes were glittering and Kim felt her heart rise and fly away like a bird.

"Harry, you weren't joking around when you said that, right?" she asked quietly.

"No, of course not!" he answered, kissing her again.

Kim sighed, "But I've already got a path lain out for me. Remember?"

Harry's expression darkened a great deal and so suddenly that it was alarming. "I don't care, Kim. I don't care if you marry Karl, because I'll still love you. You've just confirmed it."

"When I come to the Order's Headquarters to report what I've found out, I'll look for you. I hope you'll be there. I'll look for you, and I hope I'll find you, so I can be reassured that there really is love in the world."

"And I'll be there," he replied firmly and sealing the promise with a kiss.


	18. Kitchen Duty

Looking back, Kim realized that if Harry hadn't told her that he'd loved her, she would have taken the cutlery to her throat.

Her summer holidays began with meeting Karl at the door of the very same castle that she had helped captives escape from not so very long ago. Imagining him to have Harry's face, she walked up to him and kissed him before walking into the house and dropping her trunk outside her room. When she walked inside, she was not surprised to find that there was a Queen-sized bed, and that Karl's possessions were scattered around the room. She sighed sadly and dragged her trunk inside before Karl came in, himself, looking shocked that she'd actually kissed him of her own free will. It pained her to see him so happy because of her.

"The whore wishes you to see her in the kitchens," Karl muttered, running a hand through his greasy hair.

"Nassandra? All right," Kim replied and hopped out of the room, attempting to walk and slip on a different pair of shoes at the same time, and earning her an odd look from Draco, who happened to be walking by.

Kim went by several other people in the corridors, each looking at her slightly angrily. She finally reached the kitchens and saw Nassandra dragging something heavy through the door. It seemed to be a cow, but upon closer inspection, it had fangs and instead of hooves it had toes.

"Hey, Nassandra, why did you want to see me?" Kim asked, sitting in a chair and propping her feet up onto the table.

"I've told the Dark Lord that I want you to help me in the kitchens over the summer," Nassandra replied.

"WHAT!" Kim exclaimed in indignation.

"Yeah, it'll give you an excuse not to see Karl so often, and maybe you could slip Sleeping Draught into his drinks or something. Also, I need the help and if you do this, the Dark Lord won't find you for awhile and you won't be punished because he'll probably forget eventually," she replied, slicing up the cow-like animal into burger-like circles.

"Yeah, I could probably slip off to the Order more often, too. Thanks, Nassandra!"

"Don't mention it. I need the help, anyway. She began flipping the burgers made of the unknown meat onto the stove and magically lit the griddle.

Kim stared for a moment. The meat was pink in color. "What is that stuff, anyway?"

"This?" Nassandra asked as she left the pink mystery meat sitting there. "No clue. I'll have Revenge test it for me in a minute. I could always give her an Antidote if it's poisonous."

Kim looked slightly horrified. "Anything I can do?"

"Not yet, no," Nassandra replied, sitting down.

The mystery meat caught fire and began sending foot-high flames into the air. Nassandra got up and merely flipped it over before sitting again and resting her head in her arms. One finger began playing with her orange, plastic nosering.

"Do you think I should get another nosering?" she asked seriously.

"Er," Kim was a bit alarmed at Nassandra asking her opinion. "Sure, why not?"

"I was thinking on an entirely new look. What do you think?" she went on.

"Yeah," Kim replied, "it might be a nice change. Just don't go back to the blue hair. That didn't look very good."

"I was thinking of trying teal curls next," Nassandra said distantly, getting up and sprinkling the flaming mystery meat with water from her wand. Then she took it off and put more on.

"Er, that's nice," Kim replied. Then she looked around the kitchen. "Where are the kids?"

"I left Zute, Zilch, Moonunit, and Celtelusios with Malfoy," she replied. "Revenge and Eleven are playing hide and seek, I think, but for all I know, they could be snapping wands, or doing whatever."

"What'd you leave four of them with Lucius?" Kim asked incredulously as though Nassandra were mad.

"Not Lucius, I mean Draco," she answered. "When I last left, he was telling them a twisted version of Cinderella. I left them with him in exchange for some information that I wouldn't let loose."

"What information? I won't tell," Kim said quickly.

"Nothing really. I don't see why he cares. It's the fact that Celtelusios is his half-brother," she said, waving it away and flipping the mystery meat again.

"You mean you... Lucius... gross-!" Kim exclaimed.

"Tell me about it," Nassandra replied, twirling her green hair around one finger.

"Wait... what do you mean by a twisted version of Cinderella?" Kim wondered, suddenly getting a picture of Malfoy telling four little kids a scary story.

"Well, Malfoy doesn't know the entire story, so he was making up a few things. Like the glass slipper was made of fur, for example. Also, Cinderella somehow met the Three Little Pigs along the way and I think the wolf ate all four of them at one point..."

Kim began to laugh and Nassandra grinned. She would have to tell Harry this... but thinking of Harry made Kim sad that she couldn't be with him. So she got a brilliant idea.

"Nassandra, I'll be in a few minutes," she said.

"Don't you want any?" Nassandra questioned, flipping over the burning mystery meat again.

"No thanks," Kim replied. "I'm not really hungry. I've got to send an owl. I'll be back in a minute or so to help you wash the dishes."

Then she scurried out of the room to the place where Tam had flown off.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Tam!" she called. "TAAAAAAAAM!" She was about to call another time when the owl flew onto her outstretched arm. "Oh! There you are!" she said happily. "I want you to send a message, okay?"

Tam hooted happily. Kim took out the parchment and quill she'd brought with her. She put the parchment on the wall of the castle and wrote:

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope your summer isn't going miserably. I've been given kitchen duties with Nassandra for the entire holiday! Nassandra, herself, is cooking some mystery meat that she dragged out of the forest... I think I'm going to starve this summer..._

_Anyway, I hope you're all right. I, obviously, can't say where I'm staying, but it's nowhere happy, I'll tell you that. _

_Send me a reply back with Tam and say it's from any random name you can come up with. I don't care what it is. Use code, obviously._

_ With Love,_

_ Kim_

_P.S. I'm hoping to be seeing you you-know-where in mid-July, so I'm hoping that you'll be there!_

Kim seriously hoped Harry would reply. She didn't want to be left all alone during the entire summer. She closed the envelope and wrote nothing on the front.

"Okay," Kim said to Tam, "I want you to take this to Harry Potter, okay? Try not to get caught by anyone if you can help it, but stay safe!"

Tam hooted again, excited at the prospect of a delivery. She flew around for a second before Kim managed to grab her and attach the letter.

"Take care!" Kim called after her retreating form into the sunset. Then she hurried back into the kitchens where she found Nassandra handing someone a burger:

"What is it?" he asked, looking at the burnt circle of unknown meat.

"Chicken," Nassandra replied, "enjoy."

"That was NOT chicken, Nassandra," Kim said quietly after he'd left.

"Yeah, well, Revenge said that that's what it tasted like," Nassandra replied stiffly. "Who'd you send the letter to?"

"Harry," Kim replied, dropping her voice so low that Nassandra had to lip-read.

"He on speaking terms with you, then?"

"Yeah," Kim replied, "we're a-" she looked around wildly, "-a couple."

Nassandra raised her brunette's eyebrows so high that they disappeared behind her wild green hair. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Kim replied. "I don't know how it happened. We just started snogging one day."

Nassandra looked even more surprised at this information.

"You can't tell, obviously," Kim went on as a few people dropped their plates into the kitchen hastily.

"I know," Nassandra replied, picking up the plates and going over to the sink.

Kim frowned, "You use _that_ sink to wash dishes?"

"Yeah, problem?"

"The water comes out orange," Kim commented.

"So? What they don't know won't hurt them," Nassandra replied, turning on the tap and running the dishes under the water for a split-second before declaring them clean and re-stacking them in a pile.

"That's not washing dishes!" Kim exclaimed, horrified.

"So?" Nassandra replied with a sigh. "I've got more important things to do than wash dishes." She dropped her voice to a low whisper and went over right next to Kim. "Are you going to the Order later this summer?"

"Yeah, why?" she answered.

Nassandra took a deep breath, "Can I come?"

"_WHAT_!" Kim exclaimed, jumping out of her seat.

"Can I come?" she repeated.

"I dunno, Nassandra, you'd have a lot of explaining to do to them. They'd put you under the Veritaserum and you might have your memory modified. You've also got the Dark Lord to answer to. What would he say if you weren't here? Don't you have to tell him where you're going?"

"Well is there food at the Headquarters?"

"What? Why? Yes, yes, there's food."

"Well then I could tell him I'm going to get some food," she replied simply. "Excuses like that work all the time and he doesn't care."

Kim began to think things over. She'd have to ask.

"Wait a moment. Tell anyone who asks where I am that I'm in the bathroom." She Apparated into the Headquarters, much to a surprised Lupin and Moody, who were the only ones there besides Natalie, who was throwing dungbombs at the pigeons outside her window with Ethan and Eric, who seemed to be visiting, and Mrs. Weasley.

"You're not supposed to be back until July, Sprite," Moody said as greeting, using the nickname he'd given her. "Did something come up?"

"Yeah, I suppose something did, but it's nothing you really need to worry about," she replied quickly. Natalie, Ethan, and Eric were staring at her avidly.

"What do you need?" Remus asked straight-faced.

Kim took a very deep breath, then began: "Well, there's a girl at the castle where I'm staying most of this summer. She's bound to the place, but no one really pays her very much attention. She really doesn't like the Dark Lord and she wants to join our side. Her name is Nassandra and she's really trustworthy, and she'll let you use the Veritaserum on her if you want to, but she really, really, really wants to join so I was wondering if I could bring her, even if she doesn't attend the meeting?"

She said this all very fast and held her breath. Moody and Lupin both looked grave and then looked at each other.

She knew that they needed to talk about it just by the looks on their faces. "Do you want me to come back later?" They both nodded so she bowed her head slightly and waved to her friends before Disapparating back to the castle.

"What did they say?" Nassandra whispered excitedly.

Kim gave Nassandra the answer, who looked happy that they hadn't, yet, said 'no'.

Kim didn't bother to say that it was unlikely that they would allow it, simply because Nassandra was so happy. She decided to leave the kitchens instead, because Revenge and Eleven came tumbling in, Revenge chasing Eleven with someone's stolen wand.

Kim went back up to the room that she shared with Karl and opened the door to find him snoring slightly.

_Thanks, Nassandra_, she said in her mind as she remembered her friend's words of a Sleeping Draught.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The next morning Kim awoke early and saw that Karl's Sleeping Potion seemed to be wearing off. Hastily, she dressed as quickly as was possible, combed her hair, and then tumbled out of the room.

Since there was nowhere else to go, she headed into the kitchens, hoping to find Nassandra there. She was.

"I'm bored," Kim said, sitting.

Nassandra's hair this morning was a vivid teal and rather curly, making her even more shocking than before. She also had given herself another piercing, but it was on her left eyebrow and was a small, red hoop.

"I am as well," Nassandra agreed, "like my new look?"

Kim looked her up and down, "Yeah. It's cool. I wish my dad would let me dye my hair." She sighed, "I expect he wouldn't care too much, but he'd probably just give me a look."

Nassandra seemed to be looking at her closely. "What color?" she asked.

Kim looked stunned for a moment, "I've no clue what color. I'd like curls like yours, though, but I'd want them shoulder length."

Nassandra peered at her hair. "That can be arranged."

She received an electrical shock at this statement and was suddenly reminded of the time when she'd been named a Gryffindor and Anna Flest had fussed about with wanting to cut her hair. It had turned out great, but it was falling apart again. Kim eyed Nassandra's wild teal-colored curls and wondered if she wanted to take that plunge. She grinned.

"I'm all yours for the day," she replied. Nassandra broke out into a smile.

"Okay, you need to come to my room," she said business-like.

Kim obediently followed Nassandra to a small door. "Er, Nassandra, this is a broom closet."

"No, it's my room," Nassandra corrected, opening the closet door and revealing a magically-widened room and a table with many hair products and range of dyes that went from silver to green to black to shocking pink. There seemed to be every color.

"Pick one," Nassandra welcomed, grabbing her wand.

Kim eyed the wand apprehensively and then wondered, yet again, what the bloody hell she was getting herself into.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Kim peered nervously around and looked at her reflection in the window. She looked... good...

With a satisfied sigh, she Disapparated back into the Order's Headquarters to hear Moody and Lupin's answer for her. She saw no one in the room she'd Apparated into, except a sleeping Ron. She got a shock when she realized that Moody might not recognize her. She'd rather taken a liking to Moody. Paranoid as he was, Kim respected him and held him in high regard.

She glanced at her reflection in the window again and barely recognized herself. Nervously, she began to pull at her slightly curled, dull purple hair. The purple was dark enough so that, unless you looked at it the right way, you could think it was a brownish-black. She also glanced at the multiple piercings on her ears and wondered slightly about why they hadn't hurt. Nassandra had wanted to give her bright blue highlights on her purple hair and a nose ring like hers, but Kim refused. Nassandra had insisted, however, upon wearing entirely black robes and giving her a silver lip ring that would go away if she wanted it to.

Self-consciously, she took a deep breath and walked into the next room... only to find Ginny talking to Lupin about something, while Natalie was eating a sandwich. The moment she entered, Natalie stopped chewing and stared wide-eyed at her, Ginny looked up in horror, and Lupin was so shocked he looked as though he'd just seen his own ghost.

"Er, have you and Moody decided whether it's okay if I bring Nassandra with me?" Kim said, shuffling around a bit.

Everyone continued to stare and didn't give her an answer.

Then Fred and George bustled in, followed by Ethan and Eric. They seemed to have been making a prank together. Seeing Kim, however, stopped them in their tracks.

"Wow, Kim, is that you?" George asked.

"It _is_," Fred said in awe.

"Wait until Harry sees you," George added, grinning. "Ron told us about your friendly little chit-chat with him in the Common Room back at Hogwarts."

Kim blushed a deep scarlet, which she was sure did not go well with her hair.

Lupin seemed to have finally recovered, "Yeah, you can bring her, but Moody's going to put Veritaserum down her throat somehow, so I'd warn her." Lupin seemed highly amused about the bit of information concerning her and Harry. Natalie still had not resumed her chewing.

"I, er, got a new look, did you notice?" she said to Ginny, who was still looking at her as though she were mad.

"Notice?" she repeated softly. "It almost knocked me dead seeing it for the first time."

Lupin chuckled a bit and Natalie finally realized she was staring and continued to chew.

"Nassandra insisted," Kim replied, plucking at the purple wave in her hair. "I suppose she wanted someone other than herself to test on..."

"Wait, who's Nassandra?" Fred interrupted.

"She's going to come here in mid-July," Kim replied. "She's the one who's given me purple hair. She just dyed her hair, herself: teal curls and a new red eyebrow piercing."

Fred looked stunned but George grinned, "Sounds cool to me. Why'd she test on you?"

"Because she can't test on her kids," Kim replied matter-of-factly.

"Kids? Wait, how old is she?" Fred interrupted, frowning.

"She's just had her eighteenth birthday," Kim answered, "she's got six."

Fred and George just stared wide-eyed at each other, while Lupin frowned disapprovingly, and Natalie finally said something. "Is she the one who had the green hair, the orange nose ring, and helped us out of that castle?"

"Right," Kim agreed. "I've got to go. I'll be seeing you on the fifteenth, then." She Disapparated.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The fifteenth of July went by very slowly. Kim's rays of sunshine were the few Sleeping Potions that Nassandra had managed to make for Karl's goblet at dinner, and people leaving her alone, due to her hair (she had gotten annoyed with the piercings on her lips and ears and had removed them). She also enjoyed the letter she'd gotten from Tam that was sent to her by Harry, who had used the name _Dudley Dursley_ on the front. It read:

_Dear Kim,_

_I'm not too miserable. You're probably worse off. I borrowed my cousin's name for the envelope, good enough? I'm going you-know-where early this year. I'll be there on the tenth, so I'll be coming a few days earlier than you. Fred and George tell me that you've gone through some changes? Well, for better or for worse, I'll be glad to see you._

_Is that creep leaving you alone? He'd better be. If he's not I'm going to personally request to kill him for you._

_-Harry_

Although Kim enjoyed getting his message, she did not reply, because she didn't know how to put into words what Karl was making her do on the nights that the Sleeping Draught didn't work. She shuddered at the very thought of it.

The fifteenth of July came quickly enough for her. She even endured Karl for an entire night without complaint, although he began to rant about how she was beginning to respect him now and it was only a matter of time before she'd be begging him to start their family immediately. Kim almost puked.

The morning that she was going to leave, Kim packed everything magically in front of a scowling Karl. He was looking lethal, so she left quickly and hurried into Nassandra's room, only to find it empty. She shrugged and grabbed her trunk and heaved it out of her room, checking again to make sure she'd gotten everything before going on a search of the castle for Killer.

While waiting for Nassandra, Kim looked at herself in the mirror once again. The purple was gone now, so she almost looked like herself, besides Nassandra's experiment with some dye that she wasn't sure what the color was and turned out to be a nice shade of auburn. Nassandra had liked the color and made her hair wave a bit more and curl at the bottoms.

Nassandra appeared.

"Where were you?"

"Finding somewhere for the kids to stay, but Revenge wanted to come, so I had to knock her out," came the answer.

"Okay," Kim said slowly. "Anyway, I've sent Tam ahead to where we're going and Killer is going to come with me. So can you grab my trunk?"

"Sure."

"All right? Let's go."

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The Headquarters remained unchanged, so Kim headed into the room she was given last time and found that it was empty. She put her things inside, let Nassandra drop her things, too, and ushered her friend out so she could meet everyone.

They'd not gotten far, when Fred and George came around the corner and the four of them stopped dead in their tracks to look at one another. George had a rather odd look on his face. Nassandra's usually emotion-mixed face held the same look.

"Er, this is Nassandra," Kim said awkwardly.

"Nice to meet you," Fred said, immediately getting over the fact that her hair was teal-colored.

Nassandra continued to stare at George, while George stared at her. Fred shrugged and walked into his room and shut the door. Kim waved a hand in front of their faces, then left, brushing auburn curls out of her eyes.

The next person she met in the hallway was Lupin. His face looked surprised once more, but in a better way. "You look like someone I used to know," he said softly and shaking his head sadly. Kim wondered, but walked on.

When she was downstairs, she found Moody, who greeted her in his usual manner: "Any problems arising, Sprite?"

"None at all," she replied cheerfully. "None that _you_ need to worry about, anyway."

Moody frowned, making his heavily-scarred face gain more rivets, "What does that mean, none that I need to worry about?"

"Well, there's really only one problem, but it's nothing I can't keep a secret. Nassandra's upstairs. She's come for the day, but as long as she brings some food back, she will be keeping her promise."

Moody frowned even more, "And what does THAT mean?" he growled.

"Well, you see, Nassandra is bound to the castle where we stay. She can't leave without giving an excuse. She said she was going out for the day to get some food, so if she brings some back, there will be no questions asked," Kim replied.

Moody continued to frown, but said nothing more, so Kim went into the kitchen, where she found Mrs. Weasley and Ginny cooking something, while Hermione was rolling a broken doorknob over to her cat in the corner, while she read a book.

"Hello, everyone," she said, sitting down behind them.

"Ooooh, Kim, I like your hair like that!" Ginny said.

"Thanks. Is there some way I can help?" she replied.

"Yes, dear," Mrs. Weasley replied, "can you get Fred and George for me?"

"Well, I can get Fred, but I've no idea if George is still rooted where he stands," she answered, making to leave.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny wondered.

"Well George met Nassandra and I believe they fancy each other," she giggled. "Although he's wasting his time: it would never work out. Besides, Mrs. Weasley, I don't think you'd approve of her."

With that said, she turned on her heel and went back upstairs, where Harry and Ron's voices floated through a door. Resisting the urge to Apparate inside, she went by towards Fred and George's room. She found Nassandra and George talking to each other rapidly and Fred sulking in a corner.

When Fred saw Kim, he brightened. "George has lost his marbles," he informed her.

Kim giggled and said, "Your mother wants you and George in the kitchen. OY! GEORGE!" she yelled so loudly that she heard a woman in a portrait downstairs begin to screech, "BLOOD-TRAITORS! MUDBLOODS! HALF-BREEDS! SCUM OF THE EARTH DIRTYING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS!"

George jumped at this and Nassandra looked almost frightened. Kim hurried toward the stairs and she saw Harry and Ron poke their heads out of the door. She hurried by them and rushed down the stairs to the portrait of the woman.

"THE HOUSE OF BLACK IS TAINTED WITH FILTH!" she shrieked.

Kim approached her and yelled, "OY! WHAT ARE YOU ON ABOUT!"

The woman stopped in her tracks and peered owlishly at her as though sizing her up, "Half-breeds and scum are ruining the house of my fathers!" she went on in a slightly subdued voice. She then stopped Nassandra, Fred, George, Ron, and Harry coming down the stairs and Lupin coming over to the portrait and began wailing again, "FILTHY SCUM! BLOOD BETRAYERS! HALF BLOODS! DIRTY ROTTEN-" The woman stopped and looked Kim's Death Eater's uniform, "My son..." she murmured.

"What?" came an alarmed voice from Lupin.

"The snake of the pure-blood is upon your cloak," she said quietly.

"Well, yeah, that's because I'm a Death Eater," she replied, wondering what the woman's problem was.

"My son..." she woman said, "was a Death Eater."

"Really? Who?"

"My dear Regulus," she went on happily. "He was such a good boy," she sighed, "but he was murdered when he did not follow orders..."

"He was asking for death, Mrs. Black," Lupin corrected.

"HALF-BREEDS TELLING ME THAT MY SON WAS NO GOOD!" she wailed. "Ah," she said, slightly calmer, "but I _did_ have _one_ unsatisfactory son-"

"You're wrong there, Mrs. Black," Harry said angrily, appearing behind Kim. "Sirius was one of the best people I know."

"He didn't follow the family tradition, and look where it got him," she snarled.

"Well look where I got your "_good_" son," Fred spat.

"Regulus? Regulus, Regulus, Regulus," Nassandra said over and over again, "I used to know somebody named Regulus. I was about three and my mother fancied him... said he was charming..."

Everybody peered at her oddly.

Mrs. Black seemed to like Nassandra instantly. "Your mother, my dear, knows how to read people-" Lupin pretended to hurl, which Kim found amusing, "-who was she?"

"Her name? Er, it was Cairo Skywolf."

Mrs. Black's smile dropped and she began screeching again, so Lupin pulled some blinds that covered her portrait and the wailing eventually stopped.

"Oh my goodness," Kim said after a moment's pause, "what was _that_ all about?"

"She's a pure-blood who hates anyone who's not," Lupin answered stiffly.

"A bit odd having a conversation with a dead person's insane portrait," Nassandra commented, shaking her head and sending teal-colored curls flying everywhere.

"And you're Nassandra?" Lupin inquired, looking her up and down with surprise.

"Yep," she replied, happily.

"And Cairo Skywolf was your mother?"

"Yes."

"Any clue who your father is?"

"None at all," she replied.

"Er, what's this got to do with anything?" Ron interrupted.

Lupin didn't answer, but instead said, "What's your last name, Nassandra?"

"I don't have one, sir," she replied. "I suppose it would be my father's, but I've no clue who he was. All I know was that he was a pure blood, but nobody was very happy with him where I come from. He wasn't even a Death Eater from what I know."

Lupin nodded and seemed to be pondering something. He raised his wand and said, "_Accio Photo Album_." He flipped through it for a second after it had come to him through mid-air and stopped on one page and held it up, "Is this her?"

"Well, how did you get this picture?" Nassandra wondered as Kim peered at it. It was the same picture that was tacked up on Nassandra's wall. It was of a laughing woman with beautiful complexion and long brown hair that flowed fluently behind her. She was smiling in this picture and seemed to be quite happy to see everyone.

"It was given to me by a friend," Lupin answered, flipping through the book.

"Nassandra, what's going on? That's the same picture that's tacked on your wall."

"I'm not quite sure," she answered, slowly.

"I'll tell you what's going on," Lupin replied, "Nassandra is either Sirius's niece or his daughter. The Black family line is still continuing."


	19. OWL Results

Nassandra had not taken the news lightly. She began to smile and looked very happy indeed.

"The chances are almost positive that he's your father," Remus said, closing the book. "Which means that all four of the Marauders have children... all of which are in this very room."

Kim peered about uneasily at Harry, Natalie, and Nassandra. Harry looked slightly unnerved by the news, while Natalie looked stunned. Nassandra, however, looked confused.

"What's a Marauder?" she asked, puzzled.

Kim knew the answer to this. She'd been told by Lupin, as her father had certainly never mentioned it to her before. He'd also never told her that he had been the one who had broken up this group.

"There was only ever three Marauders at heart," Kim said slowly and then dragged her feet up the stairs and into her room. She was followed a few minutes later by Harry.

"Nice to see you again," Harry said, a bit awkwardly.

"I missed you." Kim ran over to him and hugged him. He smiled down at her and hugged her back. She decided to be the bold one this time and stood on her toes (as Harry seemed to have grown at least four inches already), and kissed him.

"Kim," Nassandra said, rounding the corner, "could I-" she stopped in her tracks at the sight of them snogging in the doorway. George bumped into her when she stopped and stared at them, too. Harry immediately stopped and jumped back a little, while Kim looked disappointed, wishing it hadn't stopped.

Nassandra and George both raised their eyebrows at the set of them and Fred, who'd followed George, came in and grinned.

"You could've at least closed the door," Fred joked, making Harry turn scarlet. Kim remained unabashed.

"You were asking?" she prompted stiffly, turning to Nassandra.

"Um, oh, yeah, I wanted to know if I could borrow your cloak for an hour. I've forgotten mine and I'm going to go into the forest..."

"Yeah, sure," Kim interrupted and crossed the room to her trunk and opened it, yanking out her cloak. Killer prowled into the room and jumped on her bed, curling up for a nap there. She tossed the cloak to Nassandra, "It'll probably be too short for you, though, I'm not exactly very tall."

"Thanks, I'll, er, leave you two alone, shall I?" she said and left with Fred and George. Kim sat on her bed and began scratching Killer behind the ears. Harry sat on the bed facing her.

"Bit embarrassing..." he mumbled.

"Not really, when you consider the fact that they're older than us and that I've walked in on Nassandra doing much worse," Kim replied.

Harry was still a bit red. Kim supposed he wasn't quite used to dating too many girls… or he might just be the shy type.

"So," he said suddenly, "did that guy, Karl, leave you alone?"

"No," she replied quietly. She looked up at him and his emerald eyes were blazing. She smiled a bit to herself. It was great that he cared and a wonderful feeling to have.

"I dealt with it, though," she said proudly. "I tolerated it simply because I knew I'd see you again."

He seemed to be taken slightly aback, but grinned in a way that made his features light up.

"The Dursleys were probably nothing compared to Karl, right? All they did was ignore me for the most part and try to keep me locked in my room or keep me outside. Pretty boring is all."

"I don't suppose you knew that we're allowed to do magic now that the Dark Lord's back?"

Harry looked stricken and surprised, making Kim guess the answer.

"I've done it loads of times and the Ministry hasn't complained once. Look, see?" She pointed her wand at one of the books in her trunk and said, "_Accio Book_." It zoomed toward her and she caught it. "See? No harm done."

"I guess you're right," Harry said, but was cut off by a large screech owl that had swooped in at that moment. Harry stared at it, while Kim looked at it, wondering why she'd gotten into trouble with the Ministry _now_ instead of before when she'd used the Imperius Curse.

She got up and approached the owl, who dropped a thick envelope into her hands.

"I'm not in trouble!" she exclaimed, looking at the front, which bore the Hogwarts crest.

"Kim!" Ginny cried, bursting into the door, "did you get them? O.W.L. results!" She brandished a piece of parchment in front of her face.

"Hold on, let me open it, first," she replied, tearing open the paper. She slowly opened it and read what was inside:

_Dear Ms. Barkley,_

_Enclosed are your O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Level) results. As you expressed wishes to become a Healer to your Head of House, you will find that you needed high results in the following:_

_Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions, and Transfiguration._

_You will find your results on the following page. Good Luck and enjoy your summer._

_Sincerely,_

A list of the examiners' names followed. Kim simply tossed the first parchment onto her bed and looked eagerly at the second one. This one read:

_Your O.W.L. (Ordinary Wizarding Level) results are as follows:_

_Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations_

_Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding_

_Charms: Outstanding_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts: Acceptable_

_Divination: Dreadful_

_Herbology: Outstanding_

_History of Magic: Exceeds Expectations_

_Potions: Outstanding_

_Transfiguration: Outstanding_

Kim began to glow for a moment before re-visiting her Defense Against the Dark Arts scores, when her smile dropped a bit and she frowned.

"What'd you get?" Ginny inquired.

"I passed everything," Kim replied brightly. "Even Potions! I've got everything I need to become a Healer... well..." Her frown returned, "Not Defense Against the Dark Arts..."

Ginny took a look at her O.W.L.s, while Harry looked at Ginny's and handed it to Kim. It read:

_Astronomy: Exceeds Expectations_

_Care of Magical Creatures: Exceeds Expectations_

_Charms: Outstanding_

_Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding_

_Divination: Acceptable_

_Herbology: Exceeds Expectations_

_History of Magic: Acceptable_

_Potions: Acceptable_

_Transfiguration: Exceeds Expectations_

Kim gazed longingly at Ginny's Defense Against the Dark Arts grade and wished she'd gotten at least and 'E' in it.

"Wow, Kim! You got five 'O's, and three 'E's! Only one 'A'!" Kim saw Ginny hand her paper to Harry. "You must be brilliant."

"Not in Defense Against the Dark Arts, I'm not," she snapped.

"But you're always reading things on Defense Spells and stuff, I don't know how you wouldn't have gotten an 'O' in it..." Ginny pondered.

"Ginny, those books aren't on defending myself against the Dark Arts... those books are on how to _use_ the Dark Arts," she tittered, shaking her head.

She strode over to her trunk and pulled out several books, "Look," she began naming them off one by one, "_Black Magic for the Advanced, Curses, Jinxes, and Hexes for the Advanced Dark Artist, Jinxes for the Jinxed. Dark Arts and Dark Purposes, How to brew Powerful Poisons, Curses for the Cursed, A Study of the Dark Arts_..." She tossed each book onto her bed as she read them off.

"You see? It doesn't matter if I knew how to do the Cruciatus Curse when I went to Hogwarts, because I'd only ever heard of _Expelliarmus_ ONCE before it was mentioned in class. Ways of protecting myself were known as the Unforgivable Curses, although I'd only ever killed two human beings in my life using the _Avada Kedavra_. The Dark Lord never thought that any other spells were really needed, so not too many bothered to teach me."

Ginny didn't reply, but instead picked up a handful of the other books in Kim's trunk. She looked at the titles.

"These don't look so bad, though," she said, "_Advanced Transfiguration, A Study of Dragons, Chimeras and other Dangerous Beasts_... and I don't know what this book is, it's got no title..." She began to open the book, but Kim snatched it away.

"That's my diary," she explained, concealing the book back inside her Death Eater's mask.

"But my point is, Kim," Ginny continued furiously, "you're over-dramatizing your life. Okay, look, when we go to Diagon Alley, we're going to buy you some new books, some new equipment, and some new robes."

"Do I have to?" Kim asked, looking hopefully at Harry for some support, but he seemed to be agreeing with Ginny, and turning over the revelation that Kim had killed in his mind.

"Yes. Now come downstairs. Mum has our Hogwarts letters with our school supplies there, so we can look at those now."

The three of them trooped downstairs to find Fred, George, and Nassandra coming in from the outdoors as it began to pour outside.

"Rain," Kim pointed out vaguely and obviously.

"Very good," Ron replied, grinning and brandishing letters in front of their faces. "Hogwarts letters..." He handed Harry's to him, and gave Kim and Ginny theirs. Kim opened hers and was only barely reading it, since she was looking at the rain outside. She abandoned her letter and the others and went to stare longingly outside the window.

"Woah!" Harry's startled gasp came from behind. Kim spun around to see him staring straight at a Hogwarts Head Boy's badge.

Harry let Ron hold it for a minute, examining it as though it weren't real.

Hermione came barreling in and saw the Head Boy's badge in Ron's hands, both wearing looks of sheer awe on their faces.

"Ooh! Ron, me too! ME TOO!" she cried, flinging her arms around his neck, making Ron choke and splutter.

"Not me..." Ron gasped, "...Harry..."

Kim blinked a few times and smiled at Harry, who was grinning oddly. He seemed happy, so she slipped off and into the back room to allow him time to revel. She was reaching for the back door when Moody's voice floated in.

"Where are you going, Sprite?" he asked, limping over on his wooden leg.

"I'm going outside," she replied and watched his reaction.

"You're going to get all wet and muddy. Then you're going to get sick. Fine, but I won't say I told you so when you regret it later."

Kim smiled at him, gave him an awkward hug and opened the door outside and stepped out. Since she was wearing a black shirt and black, pleated skirt that came to about her knees underneath her robes, she took off the robes and folded them neatly in a stack under the overhang of the old house, which disappeared out of sight once she'd stepped off of the back step and into the rain. She became immediately soaked since it was pouring so hard. Stepping carefully through the muddy grass, she saw the auburn color washing out of her hair, as well as the carefully curled waves. She sighed and looked at her long, straight, blonde hair and slung it behind her.

Closing her eyes, she let the water run down her face. She didn't even care when her shirt and skirt became sopping wet and began to plaster themselves to her skin. Kicking away her shoes and stockings, she tossed them near her neatly folded robes, which was soaked now that the house had disappeared from sight. She let her feet get nice and wet before stepping into a puddle and spinning small circles, getting herself even more wet.

She glanced toward where the house was and saw the back door open. Ron, Harry, and Hermione filled the doorway and Ron yelled out to her, "Oy! You're crazy!"

"You're going to catch cold!" Hermione said frantically.

Kim ignored them and continued to spin circles around and around in her bare feet and with only a shirt and skirt.

"So?" she replied, innocently. "I never got to do it as a kid... why shouldn't I catch up on it now?"

She spun more circles with her arms spread wide and began to splash about from puddle to puddle, listening to what Ron was saying: "That girl is a nutter. Er, no offense, Harry, but she's reminding me of Luna right now..." Kim was surprised to find that she didn't care what Ron thought of her. Being compared to Luna was an honor.

Then Natalie appeared in the doorway. "Kim, what are you doing?"

"Dancing in the rain," she replied simply.

"Looks like fun to me," Natalie commented and she, too, shed her shoes and stockings and folded her robes neatly, revealing her to wear a red shirt and plain blue jeans. She stepped outside and joined her.

"That's the spirit!" Nassandra cried and literally threw her shoes and socks away from her feet and took of her cloak. She wore the same shirt that Harry had once seen Tonks wear, and read 'The Weird Sisters' on it and a pair of shorts. She jumped outside and into a puddle, splashing both Kim and Natalie with water and making them giggle.

"You know," Harry said slowly and carefully, "it doesn't look too bad, Ron..."

"No, Harry, you're NOT going, too," Ron said faintly, but Harry did not humor him and removed his shoes and his socks and robes. He wore clothes that looked slightly too big for him, as the pants legs were rolled up once or twice and his shirt hung rather loosely on him. Before Ron and Hermione could protest, he, too, walked outside, raising everyone's eyebrows.

Kim took this special opportunity to splash him with the water from a large puddle. He retaliated quickly and soon, the four of them were engaged in a splash-war.

"What's going on out here?" Lupin wondered curiously and came to watch where Ron and Hermione were standing rooted to the spot at Harry's act of foolishness.

At that moment, Moody hobbled over, too, accompanied by Tonks and Bill Weasley, all three of whom were smiling.

"Natalie, you'll catch cold!" Lupin exclaimed and attempted to drag his daughter inside, but he was instead splashed with water and she ran off, giggling.

"Hey, Sprite, haven't you had your fill of the rain, yet?" Moody growled.

"Nope," she replied grinning from ear to ear before being attacked by Nassandra, who rather enjoyed the water war.

"You know," Lupin said quietly, coming inside, drenched from the splashes and the rain, "I'm starting to believe that there's a connection between those four." He shook his head, although there was a smile on his prematurely lined features, "They all act the same age, even though Natalie's eleven, Harry's sixteen, Nassandra is eighteen, and Kim is fifteen."

"I don't understand how anyone can be so thick," Ron said exasperated.

"Well, Ron, think about it," Hermione said, laying things out, "Harry's had to live with his aunt and uncle for almost his entire life, which can't have been much fun. Kim and Nassandra have never been able to do things like this when they were young because of the way their parents brought them up... and Natalie... well, she just likes to have fun." Lupin smiled at this.

"Very true," Moody growled. "When Sprite first told me she was going to go outside in the rain, I thought she'd gone off her rocker temporarily," he admitted as a small rumble of thunder was heard in the distance.

"Why do you call her that, Mad-Eye... Sprite?" Bill asked curiously.

Moody shook his head in a way that meant her did not know. "I suppose I find it fitting. She's got spunk in the way that she deals with the things that Snape sometimes has trouble with," he replied, watching Kim freeze some water slightly with her wand and throw the snowball at Natalie. The snowball hit her in the head, making the eleven-year-old laugh and retaliate as best she could. "I think I've taken a liking to her is all."

Lupin, Bill, and Tonks all looked at Moody in surprise. He'd never really taken a liking to anyone he hadn't known for at least twenty years and admitted it openly.

"You know, Ron," Hermione said slowly, "it _does_ look like it's kind of fun..."

"Oh, come on, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed, "not you, too!"

"Hey, it looks fun to me!" Tonks said happily and climbed outside.

Hermione grinned, "Well, if Tonks'll do it, I don't see why not..." She began stripping off her socks and shoes and her robes and carefully went outside to join in the fun after she'd frozen some water into snow and thrown one at everybody. Ron looked incredulous as Fred and George ran past and joined them, still in their socks, shoes, and robes without a care.

Moody smiled, making his face look even more heavily scarred than it was. "Young ones living it up their fullest," she said to Lupin and Bill.

Ron then shelved his pride and stalked out to join them. Bill looked very much as though he'd like to join them as well, bit couldn't since he had brought only one change of clothes and if he got all wet, he wouldn't be able to change.

Nassandra's hair, meanwhile, was beginning to loose its teal color and the curls had already gone. The teal washed away to reveal green, which washed away to reveal blue, which washed away to reveal orange, and in turn, washed away several colors such as purple, aqua, bright pink, lavender, and several others. It finally stopped shedding colors and stuck permanently on a dark black that was the same color that Sirius's hair had been. She shook her hair wildly, as though she'd never seen its true color before.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

After spending at least a half an hour in the rain (Ginny had joined them), with Moody and Lupin watching (Bill had gone off to greet Fleur, who had just arrived), it began to thunder and Lupin ordered everyone inside. Tonks looked as though she'd just had the time of her life and claimed that she felt as though she was Natalie's age again. Nassandra looked as though she'd never had so much fun and insisted on throwing the magical snowballs at Fred and George one last time before the three of them went back inside with Ginny. Natalie followed, laughing with Hermione, whose bushy hair was not straight and wet, although slightly frizzy. Ron followed them in and looked quite as though he was trying _not_ to look like he'd had fun, although he was failing spectacularly. The last to come in was Harry, who had to drag Kim in after him.

"Oh, but it was so fun," she pouted and looked longingly at the door that Lupin had just closed behind them.

"You're all wet," he informed them, "you all need to go change into something warm so you won't catch a cold."

Moody limped off without a word to fetch a glass of water for his magical eye to soak in. When Kim, Harry, Natalie, Fred, Hermione, George, and Ginny walked by to go to their rooms, he was putting it back into place. Ron caught up with them and spotted the glass of water.

"Oh, good... water. I'm thirsty," he said and took a drink.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed in horror, "Moody just put his eye in that!"

Ron spit all of the water into the sink as Fred and George collapsed into fits of laughter on the floor. "I thought it tasted a bit off," he said weakly and got himself some clean water to drink, instead.

Nassandra decided to take the large turkey Mrs. Weasley offered her and said good-bye to everyone (and a very warm one to George), before she Disapparated.

Kim began to get uncomfortable, since her shirt and skirt were plastered to her skin in a very uncomfortable way. She was also beginning to shiver since she was wearing a skirt and everyone else was wearing pants. Hermione and Ginny, who seemed to be sharing a room, went one way down the hall and into their room, while Fred and George turned into theirs. Ron disappeared into his room and Harry was about to follow before he turned to Kim and hugged her tightly. They began to kiss again, when someone cleared their throat behind them.

Lupin stood there, torn between amusement and much as though he'd rather not have walked in on them.

Harry turned crimson and headed back into his room while Kim scampered into her own and began to change out of her wet clothes and into her pajamas and lay down on her bed, hoping to get a bit warmer, as she was determined not to catch cold.

There was a knock on the door as she began brushing out her wet hair. "Come in," she replied to the inquirer.

Harry opened the door and went inside, not bothering to shut it. He went over and sat down next to her, while she brushed her blonde hair.

"Are you a blonde again?" he inquired.

Kim nodded a bit and then changed the subject, "Why does it seem like everyone walks in on us whenever we're kissing? Remember? Ron and Hermione... Nassandra, Fred, and George... Lupin...did you notice?"

"Yeah, I guess," he answered quietly and looking a bit cold.

Kim, herself, was shivering. She was rather cold but was refusing to get sick. She hugged the blanket tighter and put down her hairbrush. "It's cold."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, "still... it was fun."

"It was fun," Kim repeated, savoring the word _fun_. She hadn't really had much time for fun during her childhood. "But, I'm still cold," she added, grinning and her teeth chattering slightly.

Harry laughed, "Yeah, I know," he said, scooting over to her.

She laughed and let him under the blanket. "Harry, I love you."

He grinned. "Love you, too..." Then he began to sleep. Kim, slightly alarmed, wondered if she should bother to get up and even close the door. But he was so warm that she couldn't bring herself to budge even an inch and fell asleep within seconds.


	20. An Evil Plot

"WHAT IN THE DEVIL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Kim's eyes snapped open and she felt the bed next to her jump. It was morning. Kim turned her neck at an uncomfortable angle to see who had shouted. She tried to get up, but she was tangled up with Harry.

She finally fell out of bed and Harry jumped out of it and went to go over to the person at the door. Lupin.

"It's not what it might seem like-"

"HARRY! YOU ARE SIXTEEN YEARS OLD!" Lupin shouted, slightly horrified and extremely angry.

"Honest, we didn't-"

"AND YOU'RE ONLY FIFTEEN!" he added, staring at Kim.

"But we didn't-"

"It's totally outrageous-!"

"LUPIN!" Kim shouted as Lupin opened his mouth to yell some more. "Harry and I didn't do anything. Honestly. You can pour a gallon of Veritaserum down my throat and ask, but I'm telling you that we didn't!"

Lupin was rather red in the face and Fred, George, and Ron had now come over to see what the ruckus was all about.

"Oh, yes?" Lupin was calmer now, but still looked very angry. "You can explain to me why I found you THAT way this morning."

"We were cold," Harry mumbled feebly.

"You were cold?" Even Lupin had expected a better excuse than that.

"What's going on?" Ron interrupted, confused.

"Nothing. Go back into your rooms and get ready for breakfast," Lupin snapped, stalking off.

The three Weasleys remained stationary, "What's going on?" Ron whined.

"Like Lupin said, _nothing_, Ron, let's go," Harry said, grabbing Ron and dragging him down the hall. Fred and George spared one last glance in Kim's direction before she shut the door in their faces and began changing into some clothes.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Creeping down the hallway, she met Harry and they snuck down stairs together and into the kitchen.

"How are you this morning?" Moody growled from the corner. "Lupin tells me something interesting." He eyed the pair of them and Kim groaned while Harry turned scarlet. Moody began shaking his head, "Didn't even close the door..."

"We didn't do anything!" Kim exclaimed furious at Lupin for spreading it around. It was a very un-Lupin thing to do.

"Ah, don't worry, he knows you didn't," Moody replied chuckling slightly, "he's just a bit surprised is all. Didn't expect to walk in on you..."

"I'd rather not talk about it. It's a thing of the past," Harry said firmly, not meeting Kim's eyes.

"All right, then," Moody said, rising. "Say your good-byes. Sprite's got a mission for two or three days."

Harry looked startled, but Kim asked, "Where am I going?"

"Back where you came from," he answered shortly. "Grab your cloak and you can go now."

Puzzled, Kim climbed back up the stairs and grabbed her cloak from her trunk and closed it shut, hoping that no one would open it while she was gone before Apparating downstairs right next to Harry, who still looked puzzled.

"I need you to find out what Voldemort's up to. Snape says there's something, but a few are getting suspicious of him, so he can't risk it. All right, you'll be off," Moody said in a low tone. Kim was about to leave, but Harry stopped her and kissed her first, looking put-out that she was leaving again so soon.

"Bye," she said, waving, and Harry trooped into the kitchen with Moody, who hobbled along behind.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Yep, I'm back for a few days," Kim said to Nassandra that evening.

"Good. I'm bored," Nassandra replied.

"Back so soon, are we?" Draco butted in, leaning against the door.

"Yeah," Kim replied. "I've got some information, too," she sneered, just to get on Draco's nerves. She earned the prize when he sneered back, but said nothing in return.

"Kimberly?" Wormtail slid in. "What are you doing back so soon?"

"The fools let me alone for hours at a time," she answered. "I've gotten information."

"Excellent," the voice of Voldemort, himself, wafted in. Everyone except Nassandra made a swift bow. "Why don't you tell me about it?"

He motioned for the room that he spent most of his time inside and she hastily obeyed. He followed her inside and sat in a high-backed chair. Kim stood in front of him as bold as she dared.

"Now," he commanded in a persuasive voice, "you must tell me what you've wormed out of these Lupins." Kim realized that he was referring to her lie that she was going to stay at the Lupins' house for part of the summer.

"Well, there have been a lot of developments, my lord," she said slowly. "Although I've heard nothing of what is happening here. No one has conveyed any message to me."

"That is understandable, considering who you're staying with," he replied irritably, "now reveal your information. I may be able to use what you've delved for against them."

"Well, I've decided to get closer to the Potter boy in order to get something on him, my lord. I'm pretending to date him," she began.

"Excellent. When he finds that you've turned against him, he will trust no one, making him an easier target," he cackled.

"Thank-you, my lord," she stammered.

"What else is there?" he ordered.

"They have a very small group," she continued convincingly. "Not many people at all. I'd been confined to a room with Lupin's daughter, who I stunned temporarily from behind and snuck downstairs. From what I've heard, they've only about twenty people."

Voldemort cackled loudly and the laughter rang in her ears tauntingly. "Very good. Yes, they won't last long. What else?"

"I couldn't get anything else, my lord. They kept a rather close watch on me for the longest time. If I find anything else, I shall alert you," she replied with a deep bow.

"You've done well. Like father, like daughter," he cackled again. "Now, as far as my plan... I've discovered something about the veil in the Department of Mysteries. The archway around it is missing its stones. There are nine stones: eight small stones and one large stone. I have gathered these stones except for two. When they have been gathered, they will be placed in their correct place and I will be able to bring one person back from the dead. I will bring back Salazar Slytherin to work by my side.

"It is rather ingenious. I will need to sacrifice one person, however, and it will be the Potter boy. That is why you're going to be important. You will lure him into the Department of Mysteries and I will take care of the Ministry workers. We will sacrifice him to gain the power of Salazar Slytherin and be rid of the boy." He cackled some more. Kim began to feel sick to her stomach. "It will be done on December the twenty-second when the winter solstice will be out, making Salazar Slytherin and myself each gain power as he returns. Now leave and send your pitiful father to me," he ordered imperiously.

Kim bowed once more, "As you wish, my lord. Do I have permission to return before the Lupins get suspicious?"

"Permission," he said irritably. "Now leave."

Kim bowed once more and exited quickly, sending her father inside. Kim winced as she glanced at her father's mechanical hand and said a quick good-bye to Nassandra before quickly Disapparating. This was bad news.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

_Pop_! She was back at Grimmauld Place. She hastily ran from room to room, her hair flying askew and everywhere. Finally, she found Moody about to leave for his own house.

"Moody!" she shrieked.

"Something came up, Sprite?" he growled anxiously. "You can't have found out what's going on over there _already_?"

"Yes. Something big. It's HUGE! And very bad. Terrible, in fact," she mouthed off quickly.

"All right, let's go. There's a meeting that just got out a minute ago. Everyone should still be here," he said firmly.

He gathered everyone quickly and put a Silencing Charm on the door. Everyone looked grave.

"All right, Sprite, what did you find out?" Moody asked quickly and everyone's eyes snapped to Kim.

"The veil in the Department of Mysteries has another secret," she said promptly. She was surprised to see that even Dumbledore was there and looking at her intently. Lupin looked deathly still and grave. Moody was very serious. Everyone else in the room looked anxious and grave as well.

"Do you mean to say that he's using the Department of Mysteries for his work _again_?" Kingsley Shacklebolt asked.

"Yes," she replied. "He told me, himself. There are nine stones; eight small, one large. There are spaces in the archway with the veil leading to death. During the winter solstice, the stones will be placed into the archway. The Dark Lord has seven of these nine already. Placing these stones into the arch will allow him to sacrifice one person and bring another back from the dead."

"Who does he plan on bringing back?" Emmeline Vance queried, looking slightly nauseous.

"Salazar Slytherin." There were gasps and murmuring. "If this is done on the winter solstice," Kim continued, "both Slytherin and the Dark Lord will gain power and rule together."

"How is he finding the stones?" Dumbledore inquired. "Is it possible that we could get to them before he does?"

"I'm afraid he did not tell me much more, besides the fact that he wants me to lure Harry into the Department of Mysteries so he can sacrifice _him_."

Everyone looked very disturbed about this news.

"The winter solstice is on December the twenty-second, correct?" Mr. Weasley inquired.

"That's right," Moody growled. "I had no idea that there was something this big."

Kim stayed silent. Even if she did not lure Harry into the Department of Mysteries, she knew someone else would. And if she were to loose Harry... a lump grew in her throat. He was the second person she'd ever loved and the first was her mother. _But mother is dead_, Kim told herself, _there's no use crying over it now._

"Are you all right, Sprite?" Moody growled in her ear.

"I'm fine," she lied, the lump not quite disappearing from her throat.

"No, you're not," he observed. "We should have seen this coming. Go up to bed."

"Yes, sir," she obeyed and rose to leave. She Apparated from the room and into her own. There, she fell asleep.


	21. Kim Dies

After a few days of rest, Kim was up and about again. She was surprised at how tired she'd been. Moody, however, dispite her long sleep, had insisted that she not do any more work for the Order for the rest of the summer. There was no use even arguing with him, though, because they were Dumbledore's orders.

Surprisingly, the days went by pretty quickly anyway. She spent time reading, hanging around with Ginny, and basically doing anything that she wanted, including taking over the cooking and making Mrs. Weasley feel as though she were useless for lack of house chores to do. She also celebrated her sixteenth birthday ten days before Harry's and there was a small celebration and a few presents, as well as a party for Harry's seventeenth year, which had musical howling by Mrs. Black about her dead sons, which dampened everyone's spirits.

Towards the end of the summer, Kim, Harry, Hermione, Natalie, and the Weasleys went to Diagon Alley to buy new schoolbooks and robes. When they went into Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions, Ginny dragged her over to some robes for her to wear when not at Hogwarts. She made her look at several sets of robes, before they bought anything, however, then made her get a set of dress robes just in case. The dress robes were pale blue in color and were almost plain and simple, but there were gauzy pieces of shimmering fabric that were attached to the arms and made her look like she had wings every time she raised her hands. Kim happily bought it and a darker blue-colored plain set for Ginny, just because Ginny liked had liked it and it looked good on her.

After spending the rest of the day at Diagon Alley, they all Floo'd back to Grimmauld Place – Kim Apparated – and spent the rest of the summer having as much fun as was possible, given their location. Kim even learned to say Voldemort's name without fear.

Finally, summer came to a close and Kim Apparated to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, saddened that she couldn't have stayed longer, or at least sat with Harry. Sadly, both Harry and Hermione had to sit up front, being the Head Boy and Girl. They needed to tell the prefects what the rules were and such. The train ride was so tedious that Kim fell asleep and had to be woken up by Ginny to be taken up to the castle.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few moments," Professor McGonagall announced as the new first-years entered the Great Hall, shivering from the harsh winds that they had battled through over the lake.

"Oh hurry up," Ron moaned miserably, "I'm starving!"

"Hush!" Hermione shushed him.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat as the last of the first years entered. "Adams, Kyle."

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the Sorting Hat cried as the eleven-year-old boy scrambled over to his assigned table and the Hufflepuffs all clapped for him.

"Aremia, Janice."

"RAVENLCAW!"

"Asrener, Geoffrey."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Bindle, Samuel."

"GRYFFINDOR!" Samuel Bindle quietly walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat at the end of the table.

"Chang, Xin."

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted, as Cho Chang's sister, Xin, triumphantly ran to join her sister.

"Cypress, Druida."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Dillywaters, Jessica."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The list went on to "Dirfender, Jeffrey," who was placed in "RAVENCLAW!" Down it went to "Flest, Amanda," who was put into "GRYFFINDOR!"

Anna rejoiced – Amanda Flest was her sister.

"Pennyfeather, Herman."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

On to "Potley, Corallander," who Kim recognized from Voldemort's castle and was put into "SLYTHERIN!" which was all too predictable.

The last name was called ("Volkaroff, Victoria"), and placed into "SLYTHERIN!"

Then the feast started and the traditional 'Wow of Awe' came from the first years as normal, before everybody dug in and Hermione gave it a disapproving look, apparently thinking of the house elves who made it before eating it.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The next morning, Kim went to Defense Against the Dark Arts first thing in the morning. She was surprised to find that Professor Croft was not there, and instead, Fleur Delacour stood behind the desk, looking very slightly apprehensive.

Kim smiled to show support and Fleur smiled back, a bit happy to see a familiar face and was even happier to see Ginny's face, which was also familiar.

Sadly, James, Orlando, and Michael sat in the back of the room and decided to wreak havoc by setting a wart-growing charm on Terry Hoven's face and he broke out in the nasty things and had to be sent to the Hospital Wing. Fleur was not pleased and gave them all a week's detention, which served them right in Kim's opinion. (Although she had to admit, listening to Fleur swear at the boys in French HAD been quite amusing).

Besides the little incident, things went along quite smoothly. Herbology found Kim trying to prune back some Biting Begonias and Care of Magical Creatures sent her nearly to seventh heaven when Hagrid revealed to have brought in a Fwooper, a bird with vivid plumage that when singing could drive the listener to insanity. Fortunately Hagrid was ordered to put a Silencing Charm on it, so nobody went insane.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

It was very apprehensively that Christmas drew nearer and the time to bring Salazar Slytherin to life once more drew close. Kim began to dread the passing days, which seemed to go by much more quickly than normal. Kim wasn't even sure of what she was supposed to do anymore. She'd been ordered to bring Harry to the Ministry of Magic on December the twenty-second by even Dumbledore, who, Kim was sure, had gone off his rocker.

Sure enough, her plans were the same come Christmas Break. Harry knew of the plan, as well: Kim would bring him to the Ministry and, since Snape had discovered that every Death Eater would be present, all of the members of the Order of the Phoenix would surprise them in an ambush after carefully setting an Anti-Disapparation spell inside. The opportunity to let Voldemort be defeated once and for all was too good to mess up. Kim would have to endure it.

In fact, Kim was brought to the Order's Headquarters during break with Harry. Both were tense and ate little. Neither said much because Harry was being asked to do what he'd been meant to do as a baby and if he failed... then the world would be doomed and Voldemort would rule. Kim simply feared for Harry's life. Voldemort was something she could deal with.

On the morning of December the twenty-second it began storming outside, as if the weather were aware of what was going to happen. Kim dressed quickly in her Death Eater's uniform, minus the mask, which she held under her arm. She rapped on Harry's door with one black leather glove and readjusted her several layers of black cloak and robes, shuffling her black, leather-clad feet. Ron, who was staying there as well, since Kim had destroyed his house over the previous December and it was being re-built opened the door and jumped almost a foot into the air at her presence.

"Is Harry there?" she asked, nervously shuffling her black feet under her black cloak.

"Yes," Ron replied slowly, taking her in. "Wow, you look weird like that."

"Can I come in?" she asked impatiently.

Ron shrugged and opened the door for her to enter.

"Harry?"

Harry simply sat there like an empty shell of nothing.

"Harry?"

He did not stir, but he was alive and awake, because he was still blinking and breathing.

"Harry, can you hear me?"

He slowly nodded so faintly that Kim barely noticed.

"You've got to be ready soon. I'm not sure when we'll need to go," she said, readjusting her gloves.

Harry turned his head to look at her and nodded before staring at the floor again.

"That was weird," Kim whispered to Ron, who decided to go down to breakfast with her.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "He's been pretty much the same all yesterday and was moping for a few weeks before. He needs to eat something, too. Although you haven't been eating too well, yourself, have you?"

"It's not me that matters," she replied. "Harry's the one who is supposed to be sacrificed, even though we've got it under control..."

Ron shook his head sadly, "Poor, Harry. Nobody ever leaves him alone. Especially not You-Know-Who..."

Kim nodded in agreement. "Should we stuff his face?"

"Sure," Ron replied, shrugging. Then he looked at her outfit again. "Your clothes scare me."

"Yeah, well, I plan to burn them after this whole thing is over," Kim said.

"But what about that mark?" Ron wondered, pointing to her upper arm.

Kim slid off the sleeve of her cloak and looked at it. It was black, but not totally clear, yet. Ron looked revolted. "That? That'll be there forever." Then she began thinking, "Just to think, exactly one year ago I got this mark. Over two years ago I wanted it so badly, but just after I'd gotten it, I decided that I wished it were gone. Funny the way things turn out..."

Ron said nothing, so they merely walked into the kitchen for breakfast. A few people became tense when they saw Kim in uniform, but nobody said a word. It was a tense day, even for those like Ginny, who wasn't even going to the Ministry that day.

Dumbledore had managed to convince a few of those who were staying at the Ministry (it was almost Christmas time, so very few people would be there), that they needed to go home and do their work there if they valued their life.

During lunch, Kim and Ron managed to force-feed Harry a large sandwich before Kim's Dark Mark burned and she hastily put on her mask, which she'd been carrying around.

"Come on, Harry," she said quickly and threw some Floo Powder into the fireplace. "Ministry of Magic, Accidental Magical Reversal Squad Office."

Harry and Kim both squeezed into the grate after Kim gave Moody the signal that she was leaving and were transported to the Ministry of Magic within seconds, where they were met by and empty room that showed signs of a struggle, where the attackers had clearly won. Kim hugged Harry tightly.

"Listen," she said, making rope appear out of thin air, "I'm going to tie you up, okay? Whatever happens, I will not let you die. You've got to win, alright? I'm going to bring you to the Department of Mysteries. Look as if you would, had I betrayed you. Let me see your wand, too, and I'll give it back to you when the time is right."

Harry looked positively green and handed her his wand after hesitating for nearly a minute and then letting her tie his hands behind his back, although the way his expression was set, he clearly was skeptical about who to trust at the moment.

Slightly saddened at his temporary lack of trust, Kim quietly moved him into the wrought golden grilles and waited until they reached the Department of Mysteries, finally finding the door that the veil was hidden behind.

Inside, a group of about forty Death Eaters were assembled, Kim spied Tonks' hair poking out of one corner of the room behind her and smiled under her mask before closing the door behind her. She lead Harry, who was making a good act of looking betrayed and angry, toward the middle of the circle of Death Eaters. She held him there trying to make her body language yell 'triumphant!' Voldemort stood in the very front of the group, staring at Harry with great dislike and lots of amusement.

"You shouldn't be so trusting, Potter," he cackled, gleefully. Harry shot him a dirty look, but said nothing in return.

Voldemort approached the swaying veil, while various Death Eaters began placing the stones into the cracks. Kim watched, heart beating. She looked to Harry. His face was defiant and brave.

All of the stones were in place. Voldemort murmured, "Finally." He turned to everyone. Harry, whose hands were tied behind his back by Kim, stared at him, head held high, bravely. "Welcome to the returning party of Salazar Slytherin."

Kim began to shake and Harry's tied hands grasped hers and gave it a squeeze.

Voldemort began pacing around his group of Death Eaters.

"I love you," Kim whispered into his ear so quietly that she could barely hear herself. "You will not die if I can help it. You're going to live, defeat Voldemort, then marry someone and have a son named James and a daughter. Name her Kim. Understand? You understand. Don't move. Just remember that I love you, no matter if I'm dead."

She could feel Harry twitch slightly as though itching to say something, but couldn't. She knew that dying wasn't supposed to be part of the plan, but a new and better plan was forming in her mind.

"Now," Voldemort said, finishing his pacing and coming to a halt in front of the veil which was still swaying slightly. "Welcome Slytherin back with us." Kim loosened Harry's bonds and slipped his wand into his hands. "I call upon the force of the dead!" Voldemort bellowed. "I have gathered the stones and now I will bring back the one being I was promised in return."

A ghostly voice spoke to Voldemort from nowhere: "NAME THE ONE BEING THAT YOU WISH TO RETURN FROM THE DEAD WORLD. THEY WILL BE UN-ALTERED FROM THEIR TIME IN THE VEIL. YOU MUST SACRIFICE ONE OTHER BEING IN RETURN, WHICH YOU MUST DO AFTER YOU NAME YOUR CHOICE. NOW... _NAME YOUR CHOICE_!"

Kim's heart began beating so quickly, she thought it was likely to explode. It was now or never. She ripped off her mask and savagely kissed Harry and undid his bonds roughly.

"S-" Voldemort began, not noticing that several of his Death Eater cried out in anger at Kim's actions. He beckoned for Harry to be brought forward. Kim knocked him out of the way and shouted the first name that came to her mind as her heart began to beat painfully fast.

"SIRIUS BLACK!" she shouted and flung herself at the veil, grabbing one of the stones with her so Voldemort could not repeat the calling, and disappearing inside for all eternity.


	22. A Conversation Between Dead People

Inside the veil, she saw a man with long, dark hair and dark eyes speeding toward the veil, as though pulled by an invisible force. _Sirius Black_, she realized as he flew out from the veil and into the living world once more.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" a voice yelled from the other side and sounds of battle could be heard.

Kim wandered around a bit, thinking that it was nice here. She spotted a man with very messy, black hair and an auburn-haired woman beside him. They were the same ones from Harry's photograph...

The man had his face in his hands and seemed as though he needed some cheering up. The woman seemed to be trying to do this. Kim approached shyly.

"D'you need some help?" she wondered to the woman.

"No, thank-you," she woman said. This had to be Lily, Harry's mother... Harry had the same eyes.

"What's wrong?" Kim asked.

"Sirius is back in the living world," the man said. This had to be James, Harry's father... Harry had the same hair.

"I'm sorry. That was my fault," she replied, shaking her head.

"How is it your fault, dear?" Lily asked.

"Well, Voldemort wanted to sacrifice your son to bring back Salazar Slytherin. I brought Sirius back instead and sacrificed myself so it didn't work," she replied.

"You know Harry?" James asked suddenly.

Kim smiled, "He's the most wonderful person I've met in a lifetime. I was his girlfriend..."

James stared at her, up and down, while Lily looked pleased at the news.

"You seem very nice. I'm sure he misses you," Lily said gently. "It was very brave of you to sacrifice yourself for his sake. I thank you."

Kim kicked the thin air out of habit. "I probably should have brought one of you back, instead," she said quietly.

"Oh, no," Lily protested, while James continued to look her up and down. "Sirius was a very good choice. Perhaps they'll catch that slimy worm, Pettigrew, and he'll be set free." Kim took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"What's your name?" James asked, finally.

"My name is Kim," she replied, careful not to mention her last name.

"You look slightly familiar," James said carefully.

Kim swallowed, "You haven't seen me before. I'm a year younger than Harry."

"Do I know your parents?"

"Well, my Mum should be around here somewhere," she said, peering around hopefully, "I haven't seen her since I was seven. But then, maybe..."

"Who's your mother, maybe we've seen her," Lily inquired gently.

"It doesn't matter right now," Kim said quickly. If she had replied "Jenny Trump" – which was her mother's name – Lily and James would know that she was Peter Pettigrew's daughter.

"I still think I recognize you," James said, shaking his head. "Maybe I saw you as a baby and you were a few months old?"

"No, not even my father knew about me until I was twelve," she replied, "and you wouldn't know my mother."

"What kind of father is that?" James asked, indignantly. "_I_ would've been there if it weren't for _Peter_..."

"We all regret it, James," Lily replied stiffly. "My husband and I were betrayed and killed. I suppose you know Harry's story, right?"

"Yeah, who doesn't? He's famous," Kim replied. "I also knew about Wormtail's betrayal to you."

"How do you know about that?" James asked quickly.

"Lupin told me," she said simply.

"You know Remus Lupin?" James asked excitedly.

"Yeah. I'm friends with his daughter," she replied.

"He has a _daughter_?" James exclaimed.

"Yeah, and if you're in the mood for surprises, I can reveal two more for you."

"Go on," James said eagerly.

"Well..." she chose her words carefully. "Sirius has a daughter, too, named Nassandra. She's eighteen and she fancies one of the Weasleys. Her mother is dead and her name is Cairo Skywolf-"

"We saw her the other day, James!" Lily exclaimed. "I wonder why Sirius never mentioned it?"

"He never knew," Kim replied simply.

James burst into laughter, "I'd love to see his face when he finds out!"

"Yeah, and when he finds out that he's a grandfather of six, as well," Kim added, smiling.

James laughed so hard he fell on his backside and Lily had to pull him up. "What else?" James breathed, hazel eyes glittering.

"Well..." this was the hard one, "Peter had a daughter, too..."

James's expression stopped laughing and Lily looked grave.

"Is she like him?" James whispered.

"No, she loathes him and wishes him dead," Kim replied truthfully.

"Serves him right," James growled.

A ghostly figure floated over to the three of them and leaned down to speak to Kim. It was a man who looked stern, "Are you Kimberly Pettigrew?" he asked.

"Yes," she muttered, angry that her secret had been revealed and aware of Lily and James staring at her now, very oddly indeed.

The ghostly figure cleared his throat, "For demonstrating an act of bravery in sacrificing yourself, instead of another when wishing back Mr. Sirius Black, you have proved yourself worthy to live. You may enter the living world once more." The ghost looked at her blandly.

"_You're_ his daughter!" James breathed.

"Yes, sadly," she replied.

"Can you tell Harry something from me?" Lily asked quietly.

"Anything you want," Kim replied swiftly.

"Tell him that we love him and we miss him, but he has to live out a full life and defeat Voldemort like he was supposed to and win. We're counting on him," she reeled off, a tear in her eye.

"Yes, and tell him that I miss him, too," James added.

"I will," Kim promised.

"There is a stone in your pocket," the ghostly figure said, dully. "Give it to the happy couple and they can watch their son, themselves."

"Oh, I forgot about the stone!" Kim said in surprise and pulled it out, handing it to Lily, who looked at it.

"Oh, dear! He's dueling _right now_!" she moaned, watching shapes appear in the stone.

"Let me see!" James whined, like a little boy.

"Good-bye, Mr. and Mrs. Potter!" Kim yelled, moving toward the door.

"Good-bye, dear," Lily called after her and murmured, "dispite being that traitor's daughter, I think she'll go well with Harry, don't you?"

"Yes, Lily, I do," James replied and Kim stepped back out, life breathing into her body once more.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Kim found the room in utter chaos. Several Death Eaters were either unconscious or dead upon the floor and so were a few of the Order members.

Kim spotted Sirius, who was without a wand, about to be killed by Bellatrix. _He can't die again_! She thought furiously and jumped on Bellatrix, knocking her out cold and stunning her.

"Watch your back, Black!" she exclaimed.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" he demanded, surprised.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies!" she shouted.

"TRAITOR!" Potley screeched, pointing at Kim, "get her!"

Kim took a deep breath, looking at the five or six Death Eaters that were headed towards her and Sirius.

"Sirius," she shouted, "You can't die, okay! You can't! That's important!"

Sirius looked stunned, but said nothing and simply shielded himself. Potley headed toward her first, mask flying away.

"_Kinita_!" she shouted at him as his skin began to pale and lips changed blue.

"Watch it, little girl, you're into things much too big for you," someone sneered.

"_Crucio_!" someone shouted at Kim and she began to scream and writhe in pain. It stopped and she swooped back up, "_Avada Kedavra_!" The jet of light hit someone in the chest and they fell to the floor.

"You're a killer!" Sirius snarled.

"Stuff it, Black," she commanded and felt a pang of guilt wash up inside her before the mask was ripped off and it revealed Karl. "Personal revenge, Lestrange," she spat and kicked him.

She spotted Lupin not too far away tackling three Death Eaters by himself. She quickly grabbed Karl's wand from his hand and thrust it at Sirius.

"Defend yourself!" she shouted and headed towards Lupin at a run and stunned his attackers all at once.

"How did you…!" he gasped as he saw her.

"Never mind. I'll explain later!" she shouted.

She and Lupin ran in opposite directions and Kim went to go assist Sirius, who had cornered her father.

"Sirius! No! Don't kill him!" she cried and leapt toward them.

"_Cinnibaray_!" she cried, pointing her wand at her father, who shrieked when he saw her. Immediately, he turned into a rat. "_Accio rat_!" She held him in her hands where he began to bite and scratch her. Then she conjured a jar out of thin air and put an unbreakable charm on it before dropping him inside with a thump and sealing it. "You're going to be free, Sirius, if you turn him in," she announced and ran off to assist Emmeline Vance and Kingsley Shacklebolt who were fighting off six Death Eaters together. She stuffed the jar into her pocket and made sure it wouldn't fall out, while Sirius stared at her in disbelief.

She was stunning several of them from behind when a loud cry reverberated through the building and everyone except Voldemort and Harry, who were both dueling madly and didn't seem to notice.

She looked at the breaking wall and shrieked as a large, rather ugly-looking... thing came through it with rather crumpled-looking horns on its head. On its back were Lance and Luna.

"On, Crumpy!" Lance ordered and clicked his tongue. The animal gave roar like a wounded elephant and charged forward, stomping several Death Eaters into the ground with screams of terror.

"I _told_ you there was a such thing as the Crumple-Horned Snorkack!" Luna yelled when she spotted Kim, who just stood there with her mouth open, dispite the fact that she should be fighting.

Finally, it took a well-placed curse of purple flames that seared onto her back to realize that Draco was trying to murder her from behind.

"You're a traitor," he spat.

"I'm proud of it," Kim yelled. "You know what they say, Draco_... like father, like daughter_!" And with that said, she sent several curses and hexes his way and he crumpled to the floor.

A soft hiss was heard behind her. She turned and saw Nagini, ready to strike at Harry, who was unaware and, it seemed, had cornered Voldemort by the veil without his wand.

"No!" Kim cried and transformed into a mongoose, screeching angrily at the snake and concealing her father's jar in a flowerpot in the corner that was not broken. No one would bother to look for him.

The snake turned around and spotted the mongoose. She bounded toward it on swift hind legs and her tail flowing behind her like a banner. She let her mongoose instincts take over and dove straight at Nagini's head and latching onto it, while the snake thrashed about. Kim spared a moment to look at Harry and Voldemort, who were exchanging dialogue with Harry's wand pointed directly at his heart.

"Oh, kill him already!" she cried and unknowingly sunk her over-sharp claws directly into the snake's brain, killing it instantly.

She stopped and panted before turning human again and killing the snake for sure, just in case.

"HARRY! JUST KILL HIM!" she cried. Harry did not turn to look, but took heed of the voice and blasted Voldemort into oblivion... on the other side of the veil.

He did not reappear.

Voldemort had been defeated.


	23. A Very Unsurprising Engagement

Harry began panting and shaking with anger and astonishment. Voldemort was finally gone. The Crumple-Horned Snorkack was stepping on more Death Eaters, while the Order members were fighting off a few remaining followers. Harry turned around slowly, to see who had shouted at him. His eyes rested on Kim and blinked several times. Kim smiled at him through tearstained eyes. There was a pause with an intake of breath before Kim ran over to Harry and he kissed her furiously.

Kim could almost hear Lily saying, "Oh, look, James!" Kim smiled in her head.

Finally, they broke apart, "How did you-?"

"I'll explain later," she replied, urgently. "Let's go kick some Death Eater butt!" she exclaimed with a cheesy grin and a fake punch in the air and ran over to the flower pot, taking her father in his jar out. He was still squeaking madly. She shoved him roughly into her pocket and then ran over to go help out the members of the Order. But not by fighting.

"He's dead!" she shouted, jumping onto a breaking table. "VOLDEMORT IS DEAD!"

The Death Eaters all stopped in their tracks and stared at Kim in fear. Then they all scampered, but were stopped in their tracks by everyone who yelled "_IMPEDIMENTA_!" at that very moment. Then a few people collapsed.

"Harry," Kim whispered quietly as Sirius ran over to Harry, "I met your parents..."

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

It had been a relief when everything had been sorted out. Since every single one of the Death Eaters had been at what was _supposed_ to be Salazar Slytherin's re-awakening party, all of them had been caught. Those who were not dead were sent to Azkaban, where the Dementors did not guard any longer, but instead was guarded by security trolls.

They needn't have bothered, however, since the Dementors _were_ used for one purpose: the Kiss. The followers each had the Dementor's Kiss performed upon them and were sent straight off to Azkaban without any souls.

Kim had gone to visit Draco in Azkaban and was slightly alarmed at his state. She never went back again, except to visit his funeral when he died three years later.

Only one Order of the Phoenix member died... Doris Crockford. Mad-Eye almost died, as well, due to severe injuries, and almost everyone had to spend time in St. Mungo's. Luckily, they all pulled through, and those that were not injured (Lupin, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, George, Fred, Nassandra, Dumbledore, Sirius, Harry, Lance, Luna, Emmeline, and Kim), all headed off to Grimmauld Place, using a broken fireplace with Floo Powder and Apparating.

When they were there, everyone welcomed Sirius back, but none more than Harry, who almost began to cry into him. Nassandra, however, welcomed him in an odd way:

"Hi, I'm your daughter. Remember Cairo Skywolf? Well, Remus said it was your fault, so here I am!"

Sirius nearly fainted. He accepted it very well, however, and Nassandra looked pleased... Sirius, however, wasn't so happy when all six of Nassandra's children came tumbling inside and she told them to meet their grandfather.

"I feel old," he complained, making everyone laugh.

Lance, Luna, and Crumpy were all given lots of compliments on their exceptional performance and perfect timing. Emmeline even went so far as to say that Lance was her favorite son (it took Lance an entire minute to remember that he was her _only_ son).

Dumbledore appeared into the room at that moment and addressed everyone. He began with Harry: "Harry, you have shown exceptional bravery, once again." Kim beamed at him. "And we are now sure that the entire wizarding world is safe from the evil Voldemort has created." He turned to Kim, "Miss Pettigrew, we will need yours and Severus's vouch that every Death Eater has been brought to justice-"

"Wait a second," Sirius interrupted, looking at Kim warily, "Pettigrew-?"

"Yeah, Black, problem?" she asked coolly.

Sirius growled at her and she ignored him and turned back to Dumbledore, whose blue eyes were twinkling.

"Every Death Eater is accounted for," Snape said, sliding into the room as though on wheels. "Except-" he glanced at Kim "-Pettigrew."

"Why, I've got him right here," Kim announced, pulling and frantic rat in a jar from her pocket.

Lupin started; Harry gazed at the rat with utmost loathing; Sirius growled; a few looks of general, all-around hate were sent in the direction of the rat. Kim tossed the jar into the air and caught it again before slipping it back into her pocket.

"Don't you think that's a bit cruel-" Nassandra began.

"No," everyone said at once and Kim forced herself to look blank and pulled her face into expressionless contortion.

"In light of the events," Dumbledore said then, "Peter may be turned in and Sirius's name will be cleared." Sirius looked as though his birthday had come early. "The Order of the Phoenix may disband-" Nassandra, Fred and George looked disappointed "-and we will all be able to, once more, return to our normal lives. I will be expecting a few weddings..."

Dumbledore lowered his glasses a bit and peered around the room as a few people laughed. Then he swept out of the door and towards the Ministry of Magic to inform them of what had taken place in the Department of Mysteries, and of Peter Pettigrew still being alive. Kim gave Dumbledore the jar with her father inside, and then he disappeared out the door as it slammed behind him, making Mrs. Black begin shrieking again.

Sirius made a noise like an angry dog and ran into the room, with Nassandra at his tail.

"HALF-BREEDS, SCUM!" she cried. "DIRT AND FILTH OF THE-" She stopped when she saw Sirius, before beginning to screech again. "HE COMES BACK! WHY DOES HE LIVE?"

"Shut-up, you old hag!" Sirius ordered, slamming the curtains over her portrait, causing her screams to cease. He shook his head darkly and shuddered.

"It's okay, dad," Nassandra said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

He peered at her and her orange nosering. "D'you mind getting rid of that thing?"

"What, this?" she asked, poking the nosering, "never."

Sirius sighed and buried his hands in his face, while Lupin came over and embraced him in a brotherly way, welcoming him back.

"It's good to see you back, Padfoot," he said, smiling.

"It'll be better to be back once I'm out of here," Sirius replied balefully.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Sirius Black was set free over the course of the following week, once the Ministry had gotten enough proof. It was not on the front headline of the newspapers until the next month, and was simply in the smaller articles, due to the fact that every newspaper wanted to tell about Voldemort's spectacular fall, so it was advised that Sirius lay low a bit.

The moment that it _did_ reach the headlines, however, Sirius received quite a lot of mail, saying that various peoples from all over Britain were sorry for believing him a murderer. Sirius finally came out of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place and got a haircut. Then he went to the Three Broomsticks with almost everyone from the Order and ordered almost everything they had. Then he looked into buying a new house and getting a job.

"You realize," he said to Harry, "that since Voldemort is gone, you don't have to go to the Dursleys." Harry grinned from ear to ear. "So, if you want to, you're welcome to stay with me until you get your own house."

"You know my answer, Sirius," Harry replied, still grinning.

"Of course, you might get your own house sooner, rather than later," he glanced at Kim, who was talking to Nassandra, who was teaching her to feed Zute and Zilch, who were fussy eaters.

Harry blushed scarlet at the memory. Sirius had been baby-sitting for Nassandra the previous night, when she'd gone on a double date with George, and Angelina Johnson, who went with Fred. He'd walked into Harry's room, with Nassandra's children crawling all over him to see if Harry would be able to help, only to find Harry and Kim kissing furiously on his bed.

Sirius clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder and went to leave the room because Zilch had just started crying, and the twins' crying often gave him a headache, but it was when Sirius asked who the heck the father of all of Nassandra's kids was, when the real pandemonium broke out:

"Well, they've all got different fathers," she replied slowly, peering at each one of them, "except for the twins, obviously, their father is Theodore Nott... yes, I know he's in your year, Harry... I'm not really sure WHO Eleven's father is... Celtelusios's father is Malfoy... no, not Draco, his father... er... Moonunit's father is Karl... did you really kill him, Kim?"

Kim nodded happily and Harry looked torn between pleased and taken aback.

"And then... who's missing? Oh, REVENGE, _GET OVER HERE_!" she yelled and grabbed the squirming girl.

"Er, Nassandra, I really don't think you should say who Revenge's father is," Kim interrupted tensely. She knew what Sirius thought of him...

"Why?" Nassandra asked, puzzled, "does he have a grudge against Snape, or something?"

"_SNAPE_?" Sirius roared, turning very red.

"Well we were all very drunk," Nassandra explained slowly and happily, as though remembering the time, "... even _Kim_ was drunk..." Kim blushed scarlet as Nassandra continued, "I even think _Voldemort_ was drunk..."

Sirius had been very disturbed, and groaned, realizing that he was related to Snape. Harry was very disturbed as well.

"I don't really remember much about that day," Nassandra said, thoughtfully, "only that everyone was drinking a whole lot of firewhiskey. I was fifteen, and Kim was twelve... I don't think I've ever seen you dance like that, Kim..." Kim blushed a deeper red and looked pointedly at her feet.

"Stuff it, Nassandra," she said quietly and Nassandra obliged.

She then turned to her father, "So, if you're getting a new house, what's going to happen to this one?"

"It's up to you," he replied, still looking a bit peeved, "it's yours."

"Oh, goodies!" she cried, "I'll live in it. It's almost entirely cleaned out!"

Kim laughed and Sirius plainly thought that the two of them were crazy.

"Sure," he said faintly, "I've already found a house just outside of Godric's Hollow. I'm moving in about a week from now. You can live in the house for awhile, then..."

"Oh, goodies," she said, happily. "And if you'll think about it, the Black family line _does_ go on... I mean, Celtelusios and Zilch are both boys, so they'll keep that last name..."

Sirius looked rather pained at the moment and Kim suddenly realized that she had no home to go to.

"I'll be upstairs getting packed," she said, quietly, "I've got to get back to school tomorrow."

"D'you need a ride?" Sirius asked. He had forgotten his grudge on Peter for her sake… and mostly for Harry's.

"No, I can just Apparate there," she replied slowly, then shook her head sadly and walked up the stairs.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"What's wrong, Kim?" Harry asked, worriedly on the train to Hogwarts.

"I've got no home, anymore," she replied, staring out the window. "At least before I could go to my dad's house, even though it was small, and call it home. But now I'm living with Nassandra and her kids."

"You could probably live with me," Harry offered. "Once I get out of school, I'm going to try and rebuild my parents' old house and live with Sirius in the meantime."

Kim smiled but said nothing and simply watched the landscape go by.

"Just think about it," Harry said with a sigh as Ron and Hermione came into the compartment. Ron looked fazed and Hermione looked bubbly and happy.

"We're getting married," she announced, showing off her ring to the two of them as Ginny came in, "Ron's just proposed."

"Congratulations," Harry, Ginny, and Kim all said at once. Hermione beamed and Ron continued to have a far-away look on his face.

"When are you going to have your wedding?" Harry asked, laughing at Ron's sudden start.

"No clue, yet," Hermione replied, happily.

"Can we have a fellytone?" Ron asked suddenly.

"_Telephone_, Ron," Hermione contradicted.

Everyone simply laughed. They were already married at heart.


	24. Chapter the Last

The rest of the year passed uneventfully. Harry's millions of fans followed him everywhere and wanted to hear his story over and over again, so he was very popular when he graduated. Mrs. Weasley found out about Ron proposing to Hermione and set a wedding date immediately. Their wedding was set for July the twenty-third. Ginny was the maid of honor, as predicted, and Harry was the best man. The entire Order of the Phoenix and their families (including Mundugus Fletcher and Brandy Randy and excluding Snape) came... even Dumbledore. When Hermione, dressed in a flowing white wedding gown, threw the bouquet, Nassandra (who looked temporarily normal), caught it, much to the surprise of everyone. Sirius groaned and said he felt old as it was and didn't need anymore grandchildren, especially not Weasley ones, which made everyone laugh.

Sure enough, Nassandra married George only a few weeks after Fred proposed to Angelina Johnson, which she accepted. Everyone attended this, as well, when it was held over Hogwarts' Easter Break and only one month after Harry had begun his training as an Auror. When Nassandra threw the bouquet (of daisies, since she didn't like it when the roses pricked her), Angelina caught it, which was no surprise to anyone.

When Angelina threw _her_ bouquet, however, Kim caught it and she and Harry grinned at one another.

It was with a light heart and her heart bubbling with happiness, that she finished her final year of Hogwarts with all of the N.E.W.T.s that she needed to become a Healer. Happily, she applied for the job and got it.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Kim," Harry called throughout his godfather's house, "KIM!"

"She's outside, Harry," Nassandra yelled. Nassandra had been visiting her father to show off her large stomach, courtesy of George.

"Okay, thanks," Harry replied, touching his pocket for good measure, where he felt a lump and took a deep breath.

"Good luck," Sirius said from the doorway.

"What do you mean?" Harry wondered, facing his godfather.

"You're going to _propose_, aren't you?" he asked, pointing to Harry's pocket, in which the lump was showing through.

"Yeah," Harry replied and smiled.

"Good luck," Sirius repeated and clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder.

Quietly, Harry went outside and found that Kim was outside talking to Hermione, who was also sporting a rather large stomach (she was expecting any day, already), courtesy of Ron, who was only a few feet away and looking light as a feather with pure joy.

"Hello, Harry!" Hermione said, waving, "like my new look?"

Kim giggled at Harry's reply, which was; "It makes you look like you've smuggled a beach ball under your robes."

Hermione laughed and Ron crossed the lawn over to Harry, "House ready yet?" he inquired.

"Just finished," he replied, grinning.

"Oh, wonderful," Hermione said, "may we have a look?"

"Sure, you can go in yourself, right? I've got something to ask Kim..."

Hermione giggled again and grabbed Ron's wrist, pulling him away as she caught the drift.

"Question?" Kim asked, turning to face him.

"Yeah," he replied, getting down on one knee, "will you marry me?"

He pulled out the lump from his pocket and revealed a velvet box with a glittering golden ring inside.

Kim's eyes got wide as she looked at the sparkling emerald studded there. "Y-yes, of course," she murmured and Harry slipped the ring onto her finger. Then she flung her arms around his neck and began to cry.

Harry became quite alarmed, as though he were afraid he'd done something wrong.

"Er..." he began.

"Harry, I love you!" she sobbed. "I love you..."

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The very next morning, Hermione went into labor and gave birth to a baby boy, who was named Arthur, after his grandfather. This made Mr. Weasley very ecstatic. In fact, all he seemed to want to do was hold little Arthur, but every single time he did, the baby would cry.

Harry and Kim set their wedding date on August the twenty-ninth. Exactly one week before Nassandra had _her_ baby, who was a little girl and was given the name Sunday, because Nassandra insisted upon the name instead of Georgia, as George had wanted.

Then August the twenty-ninth came around the bend and Harry and Kim exchanged their vows. Nassandra and Ginny were bride's maids and Ron was the best man. When Kim threw the bouquet, Luna Lovegood, who now ran _The Quibbler_, caught it. Harry was also surprised to find that the Dursleys showed up for the wedding, although they seemed to want to leave very quickly in the room full of wizards. They met Kim for the first time and Dudley, at least, seemed to think Harry had gotten a good catch, as he kept eyeing her the entire time. He stopped pretty quickly, however, when she turned into a mongoose and ran around the table. They did leave very shortly, because the Weasleys were in the room and the Dursleys had never quite forgotten them, try as they might.

Angelina had her baby not too long afterwards. It was a girl, who they named Molly, making Mrs. Weasley just as excited as her husband had been when his other grandchild had been named Arthur. Luna and Lance were married, as was Bill and Fleur.

Ginny almost married Orlando, but they never even got past the ring before Orlando mysteriously disappeared and didn't come back until after Ginny had married James, instead, who she decided she liked better, anyway. Michael married Natalie Lupin once she'd graduated. They tried to have kids, but after the twins came out as a vampire and a werewolf, they decided against it in the future. Their names were Wolfsbane and Vampira, but ironically, Wolfsbane was the vampire and Vampira was the werewolf. Sirius wouldn't leave Remus alone for months.

But Harry and Kim had been married for three years before anything happened.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

"Harry, love?" Kim inquired, walking into the room she shared with Harry. She'd woken up hours before, but had left him sleeping for once.

"Mmm?" he asked, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"I went into work this morning-"

"Mmm hmm…"

"-And I wasn't feeling well-"

"Mmm hmm…"

"-So I asked for 'the test', you know-"

"Mmm hmm…"

"-And it came out positive."

Harry's eyes snapped open. "You're pregnant?" he asked, incredulously.

Kim smiled, "Yep. There's seven months to go, I'm already two months into it."

Harry stared for a moment, then broke into a grin, "I'm going to have to tell Sirius." He got out of bed and kissed her passionately, when the front doorbell rang on their home in Godric's Hollow.

"I'll get it," Kim said, heading for the stairs.

"You're pregnant, I'll get it," Harry contradicted.

"But, Harry-!" Kim whined, "I'm not going to stay in bed for seven months!"

Harry scowled but Kim smiled and she headed for the door, opening it to reveal both Sirius and Remus, who had decided to stop by just to say 'hi', which they did often, and to check up on Harry.

"Hello!" Sirius boomed, happily as Harry appeared and Kim sat on the sofa in the living room. "We just decided to drop by." They came inside and sat in the living room.

"How come you're not in charge of your grandchildren?" Harry asked, grinning.

"We managed to sneak off," Sirius replied with a chuckle. "Anything new with you two?"

"Kim's pregnant," Harry replied, his face glowing with pride.

Both Remus's and Sirius's heads turned to Kim, who smiled, happily.

"Seven months to go and I only found out this morning," she added.

"Congratulations," the both of them said in unison.

Sirius smirked, "Little Harrys?"

"We're not sure if it's a boy or a girl, yet," Harry replied, grasping Kim's hand.

"I'm not even sure if there's only one," Kim added.

"What d'you mean?" Harry asked at once.

"Well the Healer who works alongside me gave me the results and he said that there's a good chance that there might be twins," she replied, smiling at Harry's stunned reaction, which Sirius and Remus laughed at.

"If only James could see this," Remus said, shaking his head.

"He can, though," Kim replied. "I took one of those stones into the veil with me and he can see anything he wants through it."

"That's odd," Sirius commented, for lack of anything else to say. "So he knows I'm a grandfather?"

"He'd be deaf and blind if he didn't," she answered.

"Darn. He's probably laughing his head off at me," Sirius said.

They talked a bit longer before Sirius and Remus left, wishing them luck with the pregnancy. Then Harry went into a speech about the things he was longer going to permit her to do, lest it endanger her or the baby or babies.

Kim sighed. It would be a long, hard seven months.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

Surprisingly, the months went by quickly and Kim's stomach grew larger and larger, until her day was due almost any second. Judging by the looks of things, there was definitely more than one baby. Her stomach was huge! She went to Ron and Hermione's house one afternoon, where Hermione became excited at the size of her stomach and Harry was still glowing with pride. Hermione was expecting once again, but she was only three months pregnant, while little Arthur wandered around, bumping into things.

Midway through dinner, Kim went into labor.

"Hurry, we've got to get you to St. Mungo's!" Harry said quickly, abandoning dinner. "Can you Apparate?"

Kim nodded, painfully and did so to where she normally did when she came to work. Her co-worker, Jim Fulke, welcomed her and was about to start talking about a woman who'd just come in after being trampled to near death by a manticore, before he spotted that she was in labor and rushed her into a room and started telling her to take deep breaths. He called for Ginger Hawkins, who was also working that shift to help, while Harry stood by Kim and held her hand. Ron and Hermione went off to alert everyone. Within moments, all of the Weasleys and their spouses, Sirius and Remus had Apparated into the hospital.

Then they waited. Kim and Harry had waited through similar pregnancies. They waited for hours. The children fell asleep. Finally, a long time later, Harry emerged hastily, "They've got one, it's a boy," then he disappeared again, only to reappeared moments later saying, "another boy." The popped back in then reappeared saying, "There's triplets. Three boys."

Everyone became excited and congratulated Harry, wanting to know if they could see Kim. They came in a few at a time to see the three boys and an extremely tired Kim, who seemed to want to nod off at any moment.

"Three boys, eh?" Sirius laughed and Kim grinned weakly, while Harry basked in his pride at his new family (three members of which were being cleaned up and were bawling at the top of their lungs).

"Any idea what you'd like to name them?" Nassandra butted in as the three children were handed to Kim. Two of them quieted within mere minutes, but one continued to scream.

Kim, who looked extremely tired, handed one quiet baby boy to Harry and said, "This is James." She took the other quiet baby boy and handed him to Harry as well, "This is Remus." Lupin looked shocked and Sirius grinned at him. Then Kim began to try and quiet the screaming baby and said, "The loud one is Sirius."

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

All three babies were brought home in three days time and little Sirius continued to scream, making a rather tired Harry joke that the name fit perfectly and Remus agreed.

All of the babies had messy, jet-black hair, but James's eyes were emerald, Sirius's were brown, like Kim's, and Remus's were hazel.

Finally, Sirius shut-up on the fourth morning and Kim collapsed onto bed, asleep before she even hit the pillow.

After only a few minutes, however, James decided he was hungry and began crying. With a heavy heart, Harry had to wake Kim from her few moments rest, so she could feed him.

Finally, the three of them were asleep and Kim and Harry went to bed for a few hours before a crying told them that James and Remus had awakened, which was the cue for Sirius to begin bawling at the top of his lungs again.

They'd finally all gotten back to sleep, earning a rest for the two new parents when the doorbell rang an hour later. Then Sirius began to cry again. Kim quickly grabbed him from his crib so he wouldn't disturb the other two and went downstairs, rocking him back and forth to open the door, when Sirius and Remus came tumbling in.

"How are they?" Sirius asked as little Sirius began to quiet and went back to sleep.

"Tiresome," she answered, truthfully, brushing a bit of hair from her face. "Harry's sleeping right now on the sofa."

They came inside and Remus asked, "Can I hold one?"

"Sure, this one's Sirius," she said with a smile and handed the baby to him, "he's only just stopped screaming."

Sirius ignored the hint in her voice of a tired joke and asked if he could hold one, also.

"Sure," she replied, "I'll go get Remus: he's quiet," she replied and dragged herself into the other room and retrieved the other two babies, handing Remus to Sirius, who woke up and began to smile.

She sat on the edge of the sofa, which Harry had been sleeping on, with little James. He woke up and looked around, startled.

"No crying?" he inquired, glancing at the three babies.

"No crying," Kim confirmed.

Harry yawned and stretched, before he took James from Kim and let her rest for a moment.

"They're tiring you out, then?"

"Yeah," the new parents replied in exhaustion.

"We never expected three," Kim said, stifling a yawn and taking little Sirius from Remus when he began to cry again. He was apparently hungry, so she went into the next room to feed him.

"Can I hold James?" Remus inquired and Harry handed the little boy to him. "He looks just like his father," Remus informed him and Harry smiled a bit. James smiled, too, and little Remus just seemed happy that there were so many people around.

0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0

The triplets got older and eventually, it became their first birthday. There was a big cake, since everyone was invited, and the boys were asked to blow out their candles. Instead, little Sirius got onto the table and began eating it as it was. James seemed to like the idea, so he joined him. Then, while Kim was trying to get them away, little Remus snuck over and ate some as well. It was a very memorable time.

The boys all had rather messy hair now. It all flopped around everywhere and into three sets of eyes in the traditional Potter look.

Ron and Hermione had several more children, who were named Ivan, Nicholas, Brian, Eddie, Janice, and Nanette. Definitely Weasleys. Fred and Angelina, who already had little Molly, had four more children named Corey, Evan, Jared, and Helen. Lance and Luna had one baby, who was a little girl that they named Selina. George and Nassandra, although they already had Nassandra's original six kids and little Sunday to boot, had three more children, who were given the names Mars, Kitten, and Tomahawk. Mrs. Weasley did not approve.

The kids grew up and went to school. The triplets, who each seemed to mimic the original Marauders that they were named after and gave Snape hell in the classroom since the three of them were in Gryffindor, became the new troublemakers at Hogwarts. Their godparents were Ethan, Eric, and Ron. Ginny got a job as a Muggle Studies teacher at Hogwarts (Mr. Weasley expressed his desire to have her teach him), Ron got a job as a fungus trader and Hermione worked in the Accidental Magical Reversal Squad for the Ministry. Harry became a very successful Auror, and Kim became one of the most famous Healers in history when she discovered a cure for werewolf bites. The first person who ever used the potion was Remus Lupin, who was cured immediately and decided that Kim was his savior. The second was Natalie. Vampira was cured as well, but poor Wolfsbane had to be a vampire for the rest of his life like his father, since nobody found a cure. After becoming half as famous as Harry, she managed to cure over 300 witches and wizards from all around the world of their monthly werewolf transformations, as well as stop several hundred more from ever having to go through it in the first place.

Although Kim never got rid of the Dark Mark on her arm, she lived the rest of her life as a happy person. She eventually retired from her job in time to professionally publish her diary that held all of her secrets, fears, emotions, and experiences inside, as well as a few additions that include a few of Harry's thoughts. And you've just finished it.

THE END


End file.
